One mum’s journey from floor to front door of her own home

Harmony, with her daughter xx, has secured housing with support from the Porirua Whānau Centre.

When Harmony first connected with the Porirua Whānau Centre, she was sleeping on the floor at her job site and had no place to call her own.

Her toddler was staying with her mum, and she was expecting her second child.

“I just wasn’t able to get a rental on my own,” Harmony says. “I’d never had to do it before; I’d always lived with my parents.”

Her journey to housing stability began with a simple search. “I Googled who could help me with housing, and the Centre came up. My sister did a referral, and then I walked in myself.”

From there, things began to shift. The Whānau Centre helped place Harmony into transitional housing and enrolled her in their Ready to Rent programme, which gave her the skills and support to find a long-term rental.

“I tried to go private, but the prices were just too high,” she says. “So I went back to the Centre, and they linked me up with Te Āhuru Mōwai. That’s how I got my place.”

The Whānau Centre also offered practical budgeting support, which Harmony says made a huge difference.

“They helped me break down where I was spending money, and they gave me kai boxes when I needed them.

“It meant I didn’t have to spend as much on food and could focus on saving.”

The support didn’t stop there.

The Whānau Centre helped advocate for her with WINZ and made sure she accessed everything she was entitled to.

“No one tells you what you can actually get. And it was the first time I had someone in my corner.”

The game-changer came when the Whānau Centre helped Harmony onto the social housing waitlist.

Now settled in a two-bedroom home, Harmony is focused on her next big goal – buying her first home.

“I’m planning to use my KiwiSaver. I feel like everything I’ve learned through the Centre has given me the confidence to do this on my own.”

She’s in a better place, too, emotionally and practically.

“It feels so good having my own space.

“I recommend the Centre to anyone. They helped me change my life.”