One of New Zealand’s leading senior home solutions has officially set up as a charity in Wanaka with the goal of easing a growing crisis.
Abbeyfield is a charitable organisation that offers affordable accommodation solutions as part of a community across the country.
Last year a group of locals saw a need for an Abbeyfield home to be set up in Wanaka and provide an increasingly necessary housing solution for a growing senior population.
After a lot of work, the group was able to register as a charity and has started fundraising for what it believes is a crucial service that Wanaka has been missing.
Head of fundraising Stephanie Fieldsend said the plans were being set and the group was looking to build 14 rooms on 2500 square metres.
The rooms will be completely independent with shared eating areas and meals prepared by a cook.
By being officially registered as a charity the fundraising team can now start properly accepting donations.
‘‘We do need the community’s help . . .it won’t happen without them,’’ Ms Fieldsend said.
She expressed that the need for something like Abbeyfield had only grown over the years, but the issue seemed to go unnoticed.
‘‘You know when you tell people what we’re doing, there’s a real myth that nobody would need it in Wanaka, and it couldn’t be more wrong . . .we’ve got a crisis’’
With Wanaka’s ageing population, people’s circumstances as they retire are diverse and not always very fortunate.
Chief executive of the Queenstown Lakes Housing Trust, Julia Scott said she had seen a growing number of people who reached retirement age with very little support.
‘‘More people are reaching 65 and many of them find themselves in the position where they have no assets and no income,’’ she said.
Having lived and worked in a region their whole lives, retirees find it difficult to move and settle elsewhere.
A crucial driver of this issue is the shortage of smaller affordable rental housing. In addition to a lack of one to two-bedroom homes suitable for a single person, the rent is too high for a retired person living off a pension.
Ms Scott said the average rent for a smaller home was ‘‘around $550 a week, so that’s about this equivalent to an entire weekly pension’’.
As a result, they were seeing a growing number of seniors on the waiting list for housing support across the Queenstown Lakes district, which was why she was in full support of having an Abbeyfield house in Wanaka.
There is an Abbeyfield house set up in Frankton, which Ms Scott says has been very successful.
The Wanaka Abbeyfield team have started their fundraising efforts by looking for land donors and a Givealittle page.