A pregnant mother, who is expecting her fifth child and has been evicted from her home of six years, is finally breathing easily.
Palmerston North mother Lisa Wesselson made a desperate plea for housing when the place she called home was suddenly not hers anymore.
Toxic mould had become evident in the house her family rented and the landlord decided to renovate and sell the property.
The pregnant mother, who is nearing the end of her time, said it was a struggle to find a suitable home for her husband and children, despite having references and an income.
Prospective landlords and property managers turned their noses up when she mentioned how many children she has.
Three weeks before the end of their tenancy, Wesselson put up a plea asking for help on her Facebook page and told her story to Stuff.
“We’ve been looking at three or four-bedroom houses,” she said. “Every time I apply for a house they tell me we have too many people.
“That night a friend of a friend reached out to us,” Wesselson says.
“He said, ‘don’t worry, I’ve got a place you can have’, and I can’t begin to tell you how incredible that felt.”
With just over a week until Wessleson is due to deliver her fifth child, the family is busy moving into their new home.
“I have the biggest smile on my face. It is such a relief to know the kids will be living in a dry and healthy home, because that what was most important for us,” she says.
“It’s just a huge weight off my shoulders”.
Previous experiences in emergency housing had left Wessleson fearful of bringing a newborn baby into an unstable environment.
She says of the 20 weeks the family had spent in emergency housing, only two had been in the same motel.
“We’ve been to Masterton, Bulls… whenever the stockcars come we have to go,” Wesselson says.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s public housing quarterly report stated that, as of September 2021, demand for housing had risen by 15 per cent.
Of those, 92 per cent were ‘priority A’, meaning they were considered high risk and had severe and persistent housing needs that needed to be addressed immediately.
Across the central region, there were 1457 applicants on the housing register and, in New Zealand, there were over 25,000 people waiting for permanent housing.
Wessleson says she wants to find a way to advocate for the many people struggling to find a house to call home.
“Anything I can do. for people in the same position we have been in, I want to be able to support them,” she says.
“People are so quick to judge, but everyone has a story. If I can help others that are in the same position we have been in, then I will do what I can.”
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