Mālō ’e lelei
I’ve spent much of the last month watching the Olympics, and now we have the Paralympics to come! Congratulations to all those who won medals in Paris, in what was New Zealand's most successful Olympic Games ever! You may recall from previous newsletters that the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing is in progress. Different ways of staying healthy include living in a warm dry home, keeping up physical activity as much as possible and also connecting with others. So it’s time for me to leave my TV and get out and about. I look forward to connecting with tenants in the many village activities that are scheduled over the coming weeks.
Earlier this month, there was an article in ‘The Listener’ magazine on older women and the challenges of accessing affordable housing. I wish to thank Cheryl Ngawati of Henderson’s Wilsher Village for sharing her story of struggling to find a home until she moved into her Haumaru village where she feels really settled and part of a community (we’ve included below one of the photos that were taken of Cheryl for the article).
The tenant advisory group has just had their quarterly meeting and, as they suggested, we would like to remind tenants not to feed stray animals as that may attract others. Too many stray animals can then become a problem to manage. Please let the Helpdesk know if you’re interested in joining the next advisory group meeting at our offices in October (Haumaru will provide transport).
The daffodils are in bloom – a sure sign that spring is around the corner.
Malo 'aupito
Gillian Schweizer,
Chief Executive Officer
Milford Senior Citizen Centre was the venue for a very enjoyable morning tea and information session on 25 July for tenants of the five Haumaru villages in the area (Milford’s Alma, Stratford, Gordon and Dallington Courts and Takapuna’s Peggy Phillips Village).
Richard Blakeborough from Independent Living Mobility Equipment and Services gave a fun presentation on equipment that can keep older people safe and active at the same time (you can contact Richard on 027 4500 146/richard@ilsnz.org for more information). Ruth Moloney, Community Activator for the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area (021 025 11872/ activator.north@outlook.com), then spoke about the wide range of activities for seniors that are available at no cost or just a small fee and encouraged tenants to participate.
This was followed by Phoebe Atkinson, garden manager of Grow Forrest Hill Community Garden in the Seine Reserve, who invited tenants to get involved in volunteering and told them about the new produce bags that offer fresh fruit and veggies at a very affordable price (see www.foodtogether.co.nz for more details). Altogether, it was a very successful and interesting event which brought together many of our tenants from across the local community.
Westview is a multicultural village located in GlenEden and consisting of 42 units. Ideally located within walking distance of the Glen Eden Mall, where there are many eateries, community services and shops, it’s also close to the train station and bus service, handy for those without their own transport.
The local Kōhanga Reo is situated behind the village, and you can often hear the cheery voices of children playing and singing.
Recently, lots of work has been taking place around the village, with new guttering and improvements to the drainage, for example, and the communal gardens have had a spruce-up with new edging, mulch and gorgeous planting – thank you to our Haumaru Housing project teams! On the second Tuesday of every month, you can find the Auckland Council mobile library parked up for tenants’ convenience and, on sunny days, villagers like to sit outside their units, enjoying a bit of banter and a cuppa with their neighbours. In the village community house, tenants get together to play mahjong or engage in a game of pool. Other pastimes include volunteering in the community, enjoying the Haumaru van trips, socialising at the local RSA or bowling green or attending activities organised by other community groups. As the village is in such a central location, there’s always lots to do!
On a beautiful winter’s day, tenants of Takapuna’s Peggy Phillips Village made the most of their first visit from Auckland Council’s mobile library service. They took the opportunity to have a catch-up and share refreshments while renewing their library cards and choosing books. Pictured (from left) are: Colleen Hill, Sylvia Joseph, Catherine Kelly, Dorothy Roberts, Margaret Lintel Jones and Laurel Vance. The mobile library will be visiting once a month, so tenants will always be sure of having a good book to read.
Our thanks to tenant Cheryl Ngawati of Henderson’s Wilsher Village who spoke to ‘The Listener’ for their 3-9 August edition about the challenges of accessing affordable housing in retirement. Their photographer visited Cheryl for the feature and took this lovely photo of her at home in her unit (one of two which were included in the magazine). You can download ‘The Listener’ on the Libby library app using your library card.
We would like to thank everyone for continuing to recycle their soft plastics in the grey/black bins provided. However, please would tenants be mindful of what they put into the bins. Please do not put anything other than clean soft plastics into the bins labelled ‘SOFT PLASTIC’, as otherwise it contaminates everything else in the bin which cannot then be put to good use. Of the 114 bags of soft plastics that were collected by our Community Managers between April and June 2024, two thirds (76) were contaminated with items that should have been put into one of the other bins.
As a reminder:
• Food scraps go into the smaller food scrap bins for kerbside collection by the Council (green bin lid).
• Soft plastics go into the grey/black bins clearly labelled, which are collected by our Community Managers who drop off the contents at Woolworths/Countdown stores where they manage them from there.
• Other packaging, clean tin cans, bottles, cardboard, paper, etc, that can be recycled should be placed in the recycling bins (yellow bin lid).
• All other household waste goes into the general rubbish bins (red bin lid)
• Garden weeds, trimmings, etc, go into the Green Gorilla bins.
By recycling our soft plastics in the correct way, they can then be turned into a wide range of useful new plastic products. Anything made of plastic that can be scrunched into a ball can be collected. Please make sure any plastic bags are empty and dry.
For further information on the ‘do’s and don’ts’, visit: recycling.kiwi.nz
Guide to the correct bin to use. From left, food scraps, general waste, recycling, soft plastics, garden waste.
Are you looking for relevant and up-to-date information about ageing? The Selwyn Foundation’s ‘Selwyn Digest’ articles are focused on topics that evidence shows are top-of-mind for older people and whānau. If you’d like to receive regular emailed updates, sign up here.
The Selwyn website also offers a vast array of articles on fascinating and practical topics about ageing. So sign up today and ‘read all about it’!
If you’re concerned about an immediate threat to life or property, call the emergency services on 111.