Improving The Lifelong Outcomes Of Tamariki

Whaanau

How it Works

Rather than simply providing band-aid solutions, Kootuitui ki Papakura starts early and works together with local communities and experts to co-design initiatives based on what has been shown to make the most significant difference.

This strand uses a co-design approach to the design and testing solutions, working with whaanau for whaanau. In addition, workshops and assistance are available for whaanau in money skills courses and chromebook learning.

Kootuitui ki Papakura -Making a Difference

The Situation

The average daily indoor temperature in the winter for most New Zealand houses is just 16°C.

If house temperatures fall below 16°C, the risk of respiratory illness increases because cold houses are also usually damp, leading to respiratory symptoms. Living in a cold environment is also physiologically stressful for people who are very young, elderly or sick. In addition, there is growing evidence of the mental health impacts of living in cold and damp housing.

The current Healthy Homes standards (HHS) enforcement needs to be fixed in New Zealand, especially in the Papakura area. Landlords are legally required to ensure their rentals meet the HHS, the enforcement is via tenant complaint to MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations team, with an enforcement rate reported to be as low as 0.16%.

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Current Initiatives

  • The Healthy Housing Initiative delivers housing advice and improvements such as beds and bedding, heaters, insulation, and minor repairs and refers people to a benefit assessment.
  • Multifactorial home review, installation, advice and referral: The WHO recommends this approach for achieving health benefits efficiently.
      • Multifactorial interventions which address multiple issues affecting households at once are more effective, as they recognise the intersecting issues causing housing harm i.e. cold may be the result of structural deficiencies, lack of a heater, and/or the lack of money to pay for heating.

Successes

Research shows that healthy homes reduce hospitalisations, GP visits, and pharmaceutical dispensing among participating families.

For around $2000 per house, we can raise the temperature from 12°C to 18°C

Next Steps

The impact of COVID-19 means we can no longer deliver the service we did pre-pandemic. Therefore, we have developed a new model and approach.

Once up and running, the service will be able to support approximately 160 households per annum.

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Our Supporters

We benefit from the support of funders, partners and community organisations, and the commitment of the schools’ boards, leaders, teachers and staff.