Social housing has all bases covered

HomeGround in Auckland has a health centre on the ground floor and key workers assigned to...
HomeGround in Auckland has a health centre on the ground floor and key workers assigned to residents. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
The Otago Daily Times was given a tour of HomeGround in Auckland, a much-trumpeted, multi-storey apartment development opened in 2022 by the Auckland City Mission for 80 residents, mostly in studio apartments.

HomeGround has a tenancy team that look after tenancy issues, but also provide residents with key workers, who work to meet their needs for support from multiple agencies.

Some of those agencies are on site.

There is a low-cost health centre in the building with four GPs and specialists also visit the building, including a harm reduction nurse to help drug users, lawyers from a community law centre and a staff member from the Ministry of Social Development.

A dining room provides free breakfasts all morning.

There are also meeting rooms with activities on offer, including creative writing, drama and a book club with a literacy element.

There is a roof garden and a glasshouse for growing vegetables.

There is a women’s only dinner once a week, providing a safe space for female-only connection and social activities.

Two floors of the building are dedicated to a managed withdrawal service for addicts, with specialist help from medics and social agencies.

"Having everything in one building plus the apartments means that those in need have access to the help they need in an environment that adheres to the highest safety practices while still being welcoming and homely", Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson says.

There are also safety officers on site, 24 hours a day.

Communications lead Ellen Lear says this is so there is "always somebody here for tenants to reach out to if in crisis, or just need a conversation".