The drugs, the fights, the abuse, the wailing and screaming and the constant banging.
Sarah Murray looks back on her nine months in emergency housing motels and wonders how she and her young children survived.
Now she's living the dream in transitional housing and hopes the Government's announcement this weekwill mean more hope for others.
A $30 million deal for Rotorua has been announced by the Government to make living in emergency housing safer by grouping cohorts such as families together.
The Government will also contract emergency accommodation providers direct, provide wraparound services and open a one-stop housing hub.
Murray, who is studying an automotive course at Toi Ohomai, said the news was "about time".
"Everyone has been saying it for months. They've been complaining about the drugs and alcohol and the mix of families. You just can't handle it."
Murray and her children, aged 5 and 4, were forced into emergency housing in August when her landlord asked her to move out because he was turning the property into transitional housing.
"He said it was to get people out of motels and into a house but I said we have to get out of your house and go into a motel."
They were at one motel until October but Murray said their beds were infested with bed bugs and she was also the victim of an upsetting incident forcing her to want to move.
They went to another motel but had to leave after only a few weeks when the manager forced everyone to leave because they had bookings with guests for Labour weekend.
She then moved to a third motel where she stayed until the end of March.
Sarah Murray says her family has been saved since leaving emergency housing motels. Photo / Andrew Warner
She said the motel unit only had one bedroom with a double and single bed so she and her children all slept together. The kitchen was tiny with just a stove top and small fridge.
"We weren't able to freeze anything so basically we were living day to day. We ended up eating $5 pizzas and $5 Burger King meals because it was easier."
The constant noise, including banging and screaming from the upstairs unit, meant her children were often not falling asleep until midnight, were overtired and their behaviour went downhill.
Her son, 4, became physically violent with children at daycare and her daughter, 5, slipped badly at school and went from reading and writing words to just scribbling.
Murray couldn't stand to see her children go downhill so badly and reached a breaking point.
She was on the verge of making the heartbreaking decision of giving up her children to their father and his mother when a transitional house became available.
"I got to the point where I couldn't handle it anymore and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I told my ex-partner and his mother I would rather live in my car and the kids go with them and be safe than live there."
Their new three-bedroom home is newly renovated and has a backyard, carport and sunny deck.
"When the kids came here on the first day, they were running around crazy and so happy. I videoed them. It was so sweet."
It's been two months but the family is still on cloud nine. Her children are growing strawberries, silverbeet and parsley in pots on the deck, her daughter is back at the learning level of her peers and her son is much better behaved.
The children sleep from 7pm to 7am and even Murray's daughter, who had been a fussy eater, was enjoying eating vegetables in home-cooked meals.
She pays $40 a week more than she did in emergency housing - costing $167 a week which includes $45 a week in power.
Sarah Murray says her family has been saved since leaving emergency housing motels. Photo / Andrew Warner
But she knows transitional housing is not forever and she's busy looking for a permanent rental - one where she will have to pay market rent.
While it is better than being in motels, Murray said permanent housing was the long-term goal and meant she would be free from having weekly meetings with support people and inspections every two months.
She said the Government's announcement for Rotorua was welcome news.
"But they need to build houses. I just hope everyone else gets to have a place like this."
