Northland families get warm bedding

Habitat for Humanity development manager Alan Cowan, left, Habitat for Humanity warehouse / truck manager Philip Livingston, Habitat for Humanity floor manager Dianne Vaile, Habitat for Humanity communications and events manager Laura Welsby, Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau co-manager Olive Brown and Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau Curtain Bank project manager Martha Latu. Photo / John Stone

Having an insulated home isn't enough unless you have things like warm and healthy bedding, especially for children with rheumatic fever.

That was why Habitat for Humanity partnered with Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau to make it a reality for dozens of Northland families.

Yesterday Habitat for Humanity development manager Alan Cowan presented the organisation with 50 quilts, or six boxes worth of warm bedding.

Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau would then give them out to families either living with rheumatic fever or at risk of the disease. It was part of the Manawa Ora Healthy Homes Rheumatic Fever Project.

Mr Cowan said the quilts were donated by a "high end" company in Auckland which wanted to remain anonymous.

"It's basically finishing the job," he said.

While the homes they were going into had already been insulated, this would help keep the occupants warm and healthy. While this was the first time the organisations had worked together, it would not be the last, Mr Cowan said. "This is the start of our relationship. Bringing two big organisations together can only benefit us."

Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau co-manager Olive Brown said if they had the chance to help their clients access things like this that improved their lives, they would. "We see the needs that many don't have the advantage of seeing. So this sort of work has a ripple effect."

The organisation always had people on their waiting list, she said. Even so, there were plenty more who did not know help was available. "We have all of these networks and we still find that the message isn't reaching all of our families," Ms Brown said.

Martha Latu, project manager at Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau Curtain Bank, said it was important what was given to the families was high quality.

The quilts were part of a whole package which included beds or bunks, storage units, mattresses, sheets and pillows. The package was run by the Ministry of Health and Department of Corrections, as the beds and storage units were made at prisons. It was piloted in Northland due to the high rate of rheumatic fever, which is most common in children and young adults. People in overcrowded homes are more at risk.