Community Housing

We have two parts to Community Housing:

• Tenancy – which acts as our property managers, sourcing, leasing, and maintaining properties in a rentable condition.
• Supportive Housing – which works alongside our tenants to provide the intensive social supports they require to successfully maintain their tenancy and thrive in their community.

Visionwest Community Housing provides a range of Housing Support Services including:

• Housing First.
• Long-term Supportive Housing.
• Rapid Rehousing.
• Transitional Housing.
• Youth Housing.
• Outreach Services.
• Sustaining Tenancies.

These are each commented on later in the report.

Housing Overview

As you will discover as you read through this report, there are always challenges to addressing homelessness and, while these challenges are constant, the evidence shows that the majority of households engaging with our programmes are achieving successful housing outcomes.

The Visionwest Community Housing Team began the year in a period of transition but has steadily grown into a cohesive and proficient unit, significantly improving teamwork and productivity.

Leadership shifted during the year, with responsibilities moving between two staff members, requiring adaptability and resilience within the team. The greatest challenge was managing workload pressures during periods of understaffing, while the most rewarding outcome has been the development of a capable team that now provides strong support to Housing kaimahi across services.

All our homes are now Healthy Homes compliant. We made a concerted effort to fulfil this requirement and completed all homes well ahead of the 1 July 2025 government deadline.

Staff Qualifications

Throughout the year, we invested in family harm reduction training for all staff. As well as this, all tenancy staff have now completed the NZ Certificate in Residential Property Management (Level 4).

Louise Fruean took part in Leadership New Zealand during the year. She wrote this about her experience, “My Leadership New Zealand journey has been a transformative experience as an emerging Pasefika woman leader. The theme Leading with Generosity deeply resonated with me, aligning with my values of service, aroha, and mana – the same values that guide our work at Visionwest. I’ve been reminded that leadership is not about power, but about uplifting others, creating space for voices to be heard, and leading with courage and compassion.”

Housing Intake Team

The Housing Intake team provides the vital role of assessing, reviewing and welcoming whānau to Visionwest Community Housing and placing them into safe, secure, and affordable homes. The team’s work reflects not only the scale of community demand but also the positive outcomes being achieved every day.

As at the end of June 2025, Visionwest had recorded 90 clients who were still awaiting housing. Of these, 28 were not yet on the Housing Register – part of the Housing Intake team’s role is to actively support these whānau to overcome barriers such as completing assessments, attending appointments, or acquiring and finalising required documentation.

At present, the greatest area of need is for smaller homes, with 65–70 clients requiring one to two-bedroom units. This represents a slight shift in demand from a year ago when there was a high demand for four-bedroom (or larger) homes.

Mamau Te Taniwha – Alcohol and Other Drug Harm Minimisation

Tiaki Leathers (Kaiarahi Tikanga) and our Waitaha Canterbury Team have played a key role in supporting whānau through Mamau Te Taniwha, a twelve-session Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Harm Minimisation programme. The programme provides a safe and supportive space for participants to reflect on the challenges of substance use, explore healthier pathways, and begin developing strategies for change.

It is clear that the programme’s culturally grounded approach has made a positive difference in the lives of those engaging with the programme. Mamau Te Taniwha reflects the importance of kaupapa Māori practice in addressing complex issues such as alcohol and drug harm, and in fostering hope and resilience for whānau.