An Auckland grandmother knew she needed to get her grandchildren out of emergency housing when a mentally unwell woman threw a chair at her during a violent outburst.
Kelly, not her real name, is currently living in an emergency housing motel in Auckland with her four grandchildren.
The family has been living there for two years and eight months and while Kelly is grateful to have a roof over her head, she says it's tough.
But it's still an improvement on their previous accommodation where the five of them shared a one-bedroom motel room with a single bed and a lounge chair.
The motel they are in now is better, with three rooms and a kitchen. But it's a scary environment for children and Kelly's desperate for the stability and safety of their own home.
"We've had gangs, we've had a lot of mental cases and it's just been a constant deluge of people who don't have any idea that other people live there," she told Newshub.
"They have conversations during the night at 1,2,3, 4 o'clock in the morning, thinking they are the only ones in the world.
"My grandchildren sleep through it now but I am constantly like, 'Oh no, there is someone else out there having a cigarette and talking loudly outside like they're at their own home'."
Kelly said gang members are constantly fighting with each other and the police are frequently called.
"When we first got here, there was every gang represented in the motel. They were respectful towards us but between themselves, it is not so good," she told Newshub.
"The Armed Offenders Squad was brought in as one of the tenants owed money and he did not want to pay it back, so he decided to go crazy trying to attack the gang members."
Kelly said her grandchildren have been exposed to numerous domestic disputes and disruptive behaviour, which often takes place late into the night.
But the final straw came when a mentally unwell woman attacked her after smashing up one of the units.
"We have had mentally challenged people living here who really needed to be in mental hospital care. I was attacked by one of them and she threw a chair at me."
Kelly never imagined she would be raising her grandchildren but addiction and custody disputes meant they could either go with her or into Oranga Tamariki's care.
She knew she didn't want them going into care so stepped up and took custody. At the time she was retired and living on a disability benefit, but she was desperate to make it work.
"These last two years have been an enormous challenge but I have kept the children warm and safe and thanks to GRG (Grandparents Raising Grandchildren), I have been given lots of guidance and support," she said.
Despite all the difficulties, Kelly is adamant to provide a good life for them.
"I am old but my main goal is to keep the children educated and surround them with assistance and love.
"It’s been hard work but I do believe they have a chance."
But part of giving them a chance means getting them into a stable home, which has been taking a frustratingly long time.
Last September, Kelly was told a four-bedroom home on the corner of Treasury Place and Edmonton Avenue in Onehunga was available for them and would be ready by Christmas.
The house is one of the 1200 new homes Kāinga Ora is building as part of its Oranga Development.
Kelly was thrilled and started excitedly planning for Christmas in her brand-new home. But the holiday came and went with no news and now, months later she is still waiting.
"If they hadn't contacted us in September, I probably wouldn't have gotten my hopes up thinking we were already going to be in there.
"I mean just to be given a date…I said can we have a date? And we are constantly told, 'No, we haven't got the sign-off. No, we haven't got the keys. No, we haven't got permission. No, the roads aren't finished'."
Eventually fed up with waiting, she decided to go look at the house to see how far away they were. But was shocked to find they were finished and sitting empty.
It was a slap in the face for the grandmother who is desperate to get out of the emergency motel.
"If you go for a drive there you will be shocked. These brand-new buildings [are] empty… despite the housing crisis. It's like, what's going on?
"I'm frustrated but also on a national scale, what are empty houses doing not being used?"
But Kāinga Ora said part of the development includes replacing ageing infrastructure including pipes from the 1940s, which has taken longer than anticipated.
Regional director for central and east Auckland John Tubberty told Newshub he understands waiting is difficult, but the pipes need to be replaced.
Tubberty said while Kelly was matched with her house last November, she was never given a move-in date.
"We have a limited stock of four-bedroom homes but in November 2022 we advised [Kelly] that we had matched her with a new four-bedroom house that was under construction in Treasury Place.
"We could not give her a move-in date at that time and advised her that we would be in touch once the property was ready for letting."
He said unfortunately the upgrades have taken longer than expected because of all the bad weather.
"As part of this project Piratahi, who we partner with to deliver new and upgraded infrastructure in our large-scale projects, is doing a $50 million upgrade of the ageing infrastructure to support the delivery of many more new homes in the area.
"The pipes they are replacing date back to the 1940s. Many are broken and buried in basalt, so replacing them is a complex job. Because of the challenging ground conditions and repeated weather events, this has taken longer than anticipated."
Tubberty said they are talking to Watercare about getting the house connected to the water supply earlier than normal and moving residents in is the top priority.
"We're working to get [Kelly] and other customers into their homes as soon as possible."
But for Kelly, it can't come soon enough.
