Health starts long before illness – in our homes, schools and jobs.
Well Homes links whānau to appropriate services such as insulation, heating, curtain banks, beds, bedding, carpets, rugs, financial assistance and social housing providers. Simple cost-effective solutions are part of the plan e.g. whānau get white vinegar and a cloth to help with cleaning mould.
The Well Homes service is a partnership between Regional Public Health (RPH), Tu Kotahi Maori Asthma Trust, He Kāinga Oranga (University of Otago School of Medicine), and Sustainability Trust. Well Homes is a pathway for nurses, doctors, social workers and community health workers to refer a family or whanau, who may be experiencing housing problems, for support.
If you have a family or whanau in the greater Wellington area who are experiencing housing problems, complete the referral form and send it to Well Homes.
Every referral is assessed and passed on to housing programmes, dependant on the whanau’s needs and any eligibility criteria set by the programmes.
Who does Well Homes visit?
The Well Homes service works with whānau who:
- hold a Community Services Card (CSC), or are of low income (indicated by accessing food banks, Work and Income benefits, budgeting services, social agencies);
- live within the greater Wellington region (including Wairarapa);
AND are under care because:
- there are children in the whānau with respiratory conditions
- they are pregnant, or a new mother
- they are working with Child Youth and Family (CYFs), or Corrections
- other (the health of the whānau is at risk due to cold, damp housing).
What if whanau don’t fit the above criteria?
Whānau who don’t meet the CSC/low income group but their health is at risk due to a cold, damp home – can still be referred and we will link them with an appropriate housing service (such as Warm Fuzzies, Eco Design Advisors).
What does Well Homes do?
When a referral is received the whānau is contacted by the Well Homes administrator through a phone call, and the whānau are then linked with the most appropriate housing service.
Housing assessors will visit the home, and provide a FREE housing assessment (see image below), and provide on-site
education. A whānau plan is developed.
Whānau are assisted to obtain housing interventions (as shown below).
What feedback happens?
Referrers, the medical centre, and the whānau receive an outcomes report when the housing interventions have all be completed (we allow three to six months for this to occur).
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact us on 04 570 9002 or 0800 675 675, email wellhomes@huttvalleydhb.org.nz or message us on our Well Homes Facebook page.
Further information
