ISOL Day 2
I grabbed my airpods and linked into last Saturday's Kim Hill show -nothing like being a week behind the eight ball, but this way the interviews run one into the other , only slightly disconcerting to hear the virologist confidently stating that we only had one case and he thought it possible to stop any community spread.
When I got back into the street I wandered slightly further past the house, noticing that there was a new car at our hotspottroublespot. The guy standing outside the house didn't look like our normal dodgy character and he looked stressed. I stopped and asked him if he was ok - he said no, so I asked if he wanted to talk about it.
So, maybe not the best decision (but maybe his life didn't have a pool of options to choose from - he and his wife and 6 children had used up the last of money on petrol to drive from Hastings with the promise of a house in Henderson, closer to her family. Communication may have been crosswired, but when they arrived in Auckland they were directed to the house in our street.
Six babies to settle into bed, in a strange place - but stranger than strange - they saw rats, the mattresses were filthy as were the mattress covers - blood and other things that he wanted to talk about but didn't. No towels, but no hot water even if they had a need for drying themselves (the place is supposed to be 'serviced' to a lesser extent). What they hadn't been told was that the five strangers in units out the back would be sharing the kitchen. In a time of isolating, this jarred. And this house for $3,000 per week.
I dug out some quilts and covers, pillowslips and sheets, towels, laundry powder.
-Have you got food-?
A WINZ card to which I described the queues I had just witnessed at Countdown.
WE have a street facebook, normally used to warn of dodgy people and dodgy cars, and a message on that brought toast, breakfast cereal, fruit, towels, sheets and duvets, toilet paper and bread, canned meals. What a street, what amazing people we have here, particularly seeing as we usually go out of our way to ignore the transients that pass through That House.
These were good decent people, doing their best - but incredibly vulnerable.
What makes me particularly mad is that the landlord was paid $3,500 for the house by the emergency housing thingy, $500 being the incentive to be part of the system. Benevolent that he is, the poor lady was happy that he said she could have half a week's rent back ... WTF.
They left, our adopted whanau - they left for the Henderson property (owned ironically by the same Landlord), and we know this because the landlord bundled the two families that were at the Henderson property into his van and brought them to That House. Our lot went to Henderson but were back within an hour - maybe it was worse. The three relocated families stood on the road discussing the situation until the police turned up. And we haven't see them since.
But the lady next door to me left a big box of lego on the doorstep for the ex Henderson family that are now in That House. For which the young boy was very grateful.
This won't be just a sad story that fades away. I'm going to make sure that the actions of this Landlord are under a big spotlight.
I grabbed my airpods and linked into last Saturday's Kim Hill show -nothing like being a week behind the eight ball, but this way the interviews run one into the other , only slightly disconcerting to hear the virologist confidently stating that we only had one case and he thought it possible to stop any community spread.
When I got back into the street I wandered slightly further past the house, noticing that there was a new car at our hotspottroublespot. The guy standing outside the house didn't look like our normal dodgy character and he looked stressed. I stopped and asked him if he was ok - he said no, so I asked if he wanted to talk about it.
So, maybe not the best decision (but maybe his life didn't have a pool of options to choose from - he and his wife and 6 children had used up the last of money on petrol to drive from Hastings with the promise of a house in Henderson, closer to her family. Communication may have been crosswired, but when they arrived in Auckland they were directed to the house in our street.
Six babies to settle into bed, in a strange place - but stranger than strange - they saw rats, the mattresses were filthy as were the mattress covers - blood and other things that he wanted to talk about but didn't. No towels, but no hot water even if they had a need for drying themselves (the place is supposed to be 'serviced' to a lesser extent). What they hadn't been told was that the five strangers in units out the back would be sharing the kitchen. In a time of isolating, this jarred. And this house for $3,000 per week.
I dug out some quilts and covers, pillowslips and sheets, towels, laundry powder.
-Have you got food-?
A WINZ card to which I described the queues I had just witnessed at Countdown.
WE have a street facebook, normally used to warn of dodgy people and dodgy cars, and a message on that brought toast, breakfast cereal, fruit, towels, sheets and duvets, toilet paper and bread, canned meals. What a street, what amazing people we have here, particularly seeing as we usually go out of our way to ignore the transients that pass through That House.
These were good decent people, doing their best - but incredibly vulnerable.
What makes me particularly mad is that the landlord was paid $3,500 for the house by the emergency housing thingy, $500 being the incentive to be part of the system. Benevolent that he is, the poor lady was happy that he said she could have half a week's rent back ... WTF.
They left, our adopted whanau - they left for the Henderson property (owned ironically by the same Landlord), and we know this because the landlord bundled the two families that were at the Henderson property into his van and brought them to That House. Our lot went to Henderson but were back within an hour - maybe it was worse. The three relocated families stood on the road discussing the situation until the police turned up. And we haven't see them since.
But the lady next door to me left a big box of lego on the doorstep for the ex Henderson family that are now in That House. For which the young boy was very grateful.
This won't be just a sad story that fades away. I'm going to make sure that the actions of this Landlord are under a big spotlight.
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