Partially blind Gisborne man gets Kāinga Ora home after two years in emergency housing

Ivan Te Momo stands in front of his new Kāinga Ora house, after two years spent in Emergency Housing. Photo / Zita Campbell

The sun-drenched walls of Kāinga Ora’s new Gisborne development reverberated with aroha on Monday morning during a blessing by a kaikarakia and students.

New tenants, their friends and whānau, and Kāinga Ora and partners blessed each wall with love as they walked through the development while senior students of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou assisted with the chants of the karakia, led by kaikarakia Morehu Pewhairangi.

The 10 two- and three-bedroom homes on the corner of Roebuck Road and Norman Rd will help multiple families and individuals leave the uncertainty of living in emergency and transitional housing.

Ivan Te Momo, a partially blind tenant, waited in emergency housing for two years and needed assistance from a charity to live under its rules.

“Having a home gives you a tūrangawaewae ... a place where you can stand,” Te Momo said.

In emergency housing, there were “always rules in your head”.

Momo, who uses a cane, nearly went completely blind in 2023 and underwent a corneal graft (transplant) in one eye.

After his surgery, his vision in that eye enabled him to “make things out”, while he could only see shadows with his other eye.

Because of his disability, he struggled to keep his room to the expected standards.

He found it difficult to cook because he could not keep anything in the kitchen.

He had to carry everything instead, including his cutlery, down the hallway from his room to the kitchen.

“That was a struggle.”

It led him to find CCS Disability Action a year into his stay, which helped him to cook, clean, cut vegetables and take his daily medication.

His new first-floor location allowed him to safely walk to his job.

When asked what he was most excited for, he responded, “getting my health in order”.

“You can’t do it when you live in a place that you don’t control.”

The new state homes built by Iconiq Group were two- and three-storey buildings, the second three-storey Kāinga Ora build in the region.

The development featured universal design standards on the ground floors, windows that offered natural light, insulation, bike racks, car parking, and views from the balconies.

The first tenants start moving in next week.

Another tenant could not wait for the freedom to have family and friends around, something they said they were prohibited from doing during their three years in emergency housing.

“I can’t believe it ... I thought I was never going to get a house ... and I can have my mum over now,” she said.

Mayor Rehette Stoltz said in a statement that Tairāwhiti had a massive housing shortage, and homes like these didn’t just happen – they were a culmination of everyone working together.

“The fact that we do it the right way – bless the whenua when the projects start and then put positive energy into the walls of the homes when they are completed, sets everyone on the right path,” Stoltz said.

Pewhairangi blessed the homes, with assistance from Hawaiki Hou students to ensure the mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) was passed down to the next generation.

“This is an opportunity to expose our rangatahi to an example of how we do these kinds of karakia,” Pewhairangi said.

Kaikarakia Morehu Pewhairangi (far right) standing alongside Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou students (in yellow), who helped assist him in leading karakia for the new Kāinga Ora development on the corner of Roebuck Rd and Norman Rd on Monday Morning. Attendees included new tenants, Kura staff, Kāinga Ora and its partners. Photo / Kāinga Ora.

Principal Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou Russell Wilson said it was a great opportunity for his students to take what they learned in the classroom into the community.

“All of these taonga are passed down from generation to generation on to our kids,” Wilson said.

“The significance of our rangatahi and tamariki getting to be a part of this ... they are full of love and happiness and everything they possess goes into these whare too.”

Last month, Ministry of Social Development group general manager housing Karen Hocking told Local Democracy Reporting that 26 households had moved into Kāinga Ora properties since July 2024.

Statistics released in December 2024 showed 18 Gisborne families were living in emergency housing, a 32% decrease since last July. That followed work by social and community housing providers and government changes that strengthened the eligibility criteria, Hocking said.