Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Sixty-nine and living in a caravan - Lynette Haines shares her experience

Sonya Bateson
By Sonya Bateson
Regional content leader, Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post·Bay of Plenty Times·
29 Aug, 2016 09:21 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lynette Haines is 69-years-old and living in a caravan. Photo/George Novak

Lynette Haines is 69-years-old and living in a caravan. Photo/George Novak

Sixty-nine-year-old woman Lynette Haines shared her experience of being a retiree living in a campervan at the Cross-Party Homelessness Inquiry in Tauranga.

"I shouldn't be 69 years old and living in this," she said, holding up a photo of a 3.3m caravan. "New Zealand retirees have been left on the back foot and I'm one of them."

Haines said she was 60 with a full-time job when the Global Financial Crisis hit and within weeks she was jobless. She could not find another job and decided use her savings to live in a caravan park.

She decided this year that because of her age, she would try and find a permanent home to live in, but she had not had any luck. The homes she found that she could afford on the pension were not suitable for an ageing person or were in neighbourhoods where she would not feel safe.

Single mum Marion (Mazz) Adams, whose plight has been reported on in the Bay of Plenty Times, said not knowing where you were going to go the next day with five kids was hard.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I can't even begin to explain what that's like. There's no way of knowing what you're going to do tomorrow. No idea how you'll cook your next kai for your kids. Some people have asked why I don't go to Whanganui. Why would I go there if my kids are stable and I have a job?"

In a statement made to the Bay of Plenty Times, Nic Blakeley, deputy chief executive of social housing at the Ministry of Social development said anyone who was concerned about having somewhere to stay should get in touch with Work and Income so it could look at what it could do to help.

"We can look at options including help to stay where they are (if appropriate), help to stay with friends or family, and if necessary help to stay in emergency accommodation while they look for somewhere more permanent to stay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We can help people access affordable private rentals by assisting with bonds and rent advances. We connect people with the highest needs with social housing providers and subsidise peoples' rents."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM

Mark 'Shark' Hohua died in June 2022 after a violent assault over money.

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM
Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP