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National

Housing agencies miss the bigger picture - Māori advocate

Kaupapa Māori could be the way to end Māori homelessness. But social worker Georgie Thompson say a lot of agencies at this stage fail to see the beauty of Te Ao Māori or tīkanga Māori.

Auckland Social Workers are co-designing a plan to put more homeless whānau into homes.

“I've made a personal commitment to help those whānau that want to go down that pathway and be dedicated, the end of the road is home ownership.”

Thompson is a GI native, a leading advocate for Ruapotaka Marae, over social housing and health for Hoe oo Taamaki.

Today, the organisation launched a new co-design with Tamaki Regeneration Company (TRC) and Te Whānau ō Waipareira to target issues such as homelessness, crippling debt, and chronic hunger.

“Home affordability is going to be a big struggle but what we want to be a part of it.”

The kaupapa is called Whanau by Whanau, will help all the groups tackle issues that stop Māori from owning their own home.

At the moment, TRC is behind the largest urban transformation project in New Zealand. Their kaupapa, around sustainability and self-reliance among eastern Auckland communities, plans to build, around 10,500 new homes.

TRC General Manager Shelley Katae told Te Ao Māori News that they’ve already housed “approximately 2,800” whānau within Tamaki.

“It's amazing to see the Tamaki Collective, I mean, that's the big driver of regeneration to really make a big difference in people’s lives that live here now and especially our Māori and Pacific families.”

Workers gather outside Ruapotaka Marae / Source - Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust

Te Whānau ō Waipareirā sees this new co-design as a potential leading service in the next iteration of Whānau Ora and a model that can lead nationally.

Jackie Harema from Waipareira says, “This is a chance for Tāmaki to get it right.”

GI Residents have expressed frustration at having been repeatedly moved from State House to State House over the course of their tenancies. It is hoped that this new partnership will end this raruraru.

Thompson concludes, “We can't fix the whole world but we're going to give a damn good go.”