Struggling to find an affordable heating solution for her home, Habitat’s Home Repair Programme supported a Wellington woman to get a new wood burner installed.
“I felt genuinely supported by Habitat…they just had a real sense of humanity and compassion,” homeowner Deborah Woods said.
“it’s the peace of mind and the wellbeing that comes with having you know like a comfortable, warm and dry home. It just improves your quality of life so much.”
Deborah said her home had been cold and damp for the past seven years, and she was desperately looking for a heating solution. Through the NZ Government Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, Deborah qualified for a subsidised wood burner and the remainder of the cost was supported by Habitat’s Home Repair Programme, which is broken down into interest-free repayments.
“It heats the whole house within an hour which is just incredible. It was installed in October so next year winter the heating cost will be minimal. You don’t even need to turn the heater on…just some firewood. It’s so efficient and it’s a totally different place now,” said Deborah.
Deborah said Habitat was “really helpful and accommodating” and that operations manager Alayne Duthie, Operations manager) genuinely wanted to help me and to find a solution to the problem and I felt really supported by them.”
At Habitat, principles we value include compassion and being supportive of the whanau. We understand their challenges and try to support them as much as we can.
Habitat’s home repair programme is supported by BNZ, and helps low income families back on track with their home maintenance. For affordable and interest free repayments to the homeowner over five years, Habitat carries out most urgent home repair projects, often relating to weathertightness, accessibility, heating and cooling and safety issues.
“I was extremely grateful that they were able to help me…it makes such a difference.”
Find out more about our Home Repair Programme www.habitatcentral.org.nz. Call us at 07 849 0284 or email [email protected]
