Homefullness

Sharing with Friends: An Innovative Co-Housing Model for Single Women

The Sharing with Friends housing model was born out of a burning desire for housing justice for single older women who are in the "missing middle"--who do not qualify for social housing but also can't afford market rental or to buy their own home and who are living on the edge of housing insecurity. 
The unique co-housing model provides an affordable, secure, and connected way of living where five women, who self-select, share a specifically designed house which offers privacy and automony while also a sense of community, having spaces for shared meals and activities.
I interview Susan Davies and Adrienne Irvine, founders of the Sharing with Friends Foundation about how they formed the foundation and fund the development, how the programme gives women agency by through workshops that empowers them to design how they will live together, and how the model can be replicated throughout Australia and other countries.
https://www.sharingwithfriends.org/
https://www.commonground.net.nz/
 

HomeShare for Her: Facilitating relationships for successful home sharing

In our latest Homefullness episode, I interview Chloe Howorth on the HomeShare for Her program located in the Nelson-Tasman region of Aotearoa NZ.
The program addresses the lack of affordable housing and the lack of available housing for single women. Because in our region, according to a Stuff article in April 2023, it says “low wages and expensive housing make the Nelson Tasman area unaffordable” with our housing being the third worst in the country, with some people spending over 50% of their income on housing.
But the other thing that the programme does is it mitigates the problems that can come up when people share a living space together.
You might've seen the program on Netflix called the Worst Roommate Ever. That's enough to make you to never want to have a roommate, pretty gruesome stories.
So, HomeShare for Her hopes to mitigate those kinds of very traumatic experiences, as well as help women have the best possible shared living situation, sharing the home in a way that's equal, where everyone living there feels like the house really is their home.
This a programme that could be replicated in other regions so listen in to learn about how it's done.
That's what we're going to talk about today in our story about HomeShare for Her.
Links mentioned in the show:
https://homeshareforher.nz/
https://www.williamsamuels.co.nz/
https://www.commonground.net.nz/
 

How councils can get more money to create new housing & reduce rates

If you're frustrated by the amount of rates that you pay and the increasing rates that many councils are doing, you are not alone.  Many people complain, “councils, all they care about is money.” And yet, they have increasing expenses & responsibilities to pay for with less income--a gap that's been widening over decades.  The amount of income that they're able to generate through rates is not covering all the things they're responsible for. So, what is the solution?
Well, we've got Nick Clark, with the NZ Initiative, on to explain to us how the new policy he's proposing called Revenue Share for Housing could work.  He says it could clear most council debt and create new income streams for local councils. The benefit is that there'll be more money to be able to support new housing construction and the infrastructure needed for that and rates hopefully won't continue to increase.
So how does this work? Well, we're going to explain about it in this episode, but the basics are that:  A portion of the GST that's collected by central government from local councils on new builds would be given back to the councils.
This is really a game changer, so listen in to hear about this policy that could increase the amount of income your counsel is able to generate to create new housing in your area and that might even stabilize the rates.

Increasing diversity of housing options--a survey of what people really want in housing

In this interview with Greer O'Donnell of The Housing Innovation Society (THIS) and The Urban Advisory (TUA), I speak with her about a growing demographic in housing--the missing middle--as well the increase in people who wish to have more say in the kinds of housing that they want to create and how they want to live in that housing. The New Zealand Housing Survey was created to be able to capture this information.
We speak about the kinds of housing that we could have and how you, the listener, by taking part in the survey, can help define the diversity of the choices in housing and neighbourhoods that we can have and need in Aotearoa NZ. 
We also encourage you to join The Housing Innovation Society as a member and come participate in the CoHoHui which will be held 15-17 April 2025 in Ōtautahi (Christchurch).
Links referred to in this episode:
https://www.nzhousingsurvey.co.nz/
https://www.theurbanadvisory.com/
https://thehousinginnovationsociety.com/
https://www.cohohui.com/

Women catalysing affordable housing and neighbourhood models

The fastest growing demographic who are vulnerable to housing insecurity and unaffordable housing is older women.  Many of these women have been valuable contributing members of their communities and working professionally yet find themselves in housing precariousness later in life due to a range of systemic societal and economic factors.  
The Housing Older Women Movement believes these women should have a say and be able to participate in creating the kind of housing that meets their needs and aspirations.  HOWM are advocating and raising awareness for what they see meets not only the needs of women but provides more affordable and diverse housing choices for people from all walks of life.
In South East Queensland, Australia this mighty group of HOWM women banded together to tackle this problem with an awareness-raising and advocacy campaign where women can be a part of designing the kinds of intergenerational and socially-connected neighbourhoods where they want to live.
HOWM realised there is a need for more affordable, community-led, and regenerative housing options as house prices rise around the world but unless people know what options are available and what makes a successful housing development of this kind, people are not able to advocate for these models.  Collaboration on these models creates affordability so councils and other role players also need to understand these models and what is their part to play to enable it.
I interview Maggie Shambrook and Lynette Loffel, two powerhouse women with HOWM, about their community engagement series called My Home, Your Home, Our Homes.  
The three models that HOWM believes that will give the best results for retained affordable housing and where future-residents can participate or influence in the development process are the Community Land Trust, Cooperative Housing, and Cohousing.  There is also the Ecovillage model which can overlay any of these.  
Listen to this interview to learn about this advocacy movement, their community engagement strategy to bring community and council together increasing agency and collaboration, and how you can replicate their methods to use in your own community to catalyse better housing outcomes--for women and everyone!

A collaborative Local Government approach for housing systems change & Inclusionary Zoning as a policy for affordable housing

In this interview with Aksel Bech, we are tackling housing unaffordability and the levers within legislation, policy, and at the local government level that are available to be able to create better outcomes for housing.
I reached out to Aksel because he and I care deeply about addressing this housing unaffordability problem in Aotearoa NZ and he is leading the way on housing reform in his local area through The Housing Czar, a housing advocacy initiative in the Waikato. (http://housingczar.nz/)
Aksel tells us about the Waikato Housing Initiative (WHI), which is a collaboration of all the different councils within that Waikato region, where they came together to create a local strategy around how to tackle the regional housing crisis. (https://www.waikatohousinginitiative.org/)
We talk about:
the policy called inclusionary zoning, a policy that a local government can put into place to make land available for affordable housing.
the Community Land Trust (CLT) as a means of creating housing to be perpetually affordable.
the WHI and how that came to be, its goals, and what it has achieved to date.
about Aksel's background growing up in Denmark and how that has influenced how he understands housing differently than it is currently done in Aotearoa, which has a more collective or community led approach to it. And why he thinks more in terms of neighbourhoods than just about housing. 
We want to make these models known to everyone so please have a listen and check out the Common Ground website for more resources, our newsletter, and to get in touch.
For more detailed information and explanation videos on Inclusionary Zoning, AKA Inclusionary Housing, you can visit this site: https://inclusionaryhousing.org/inclusionary-housing-explained/what-is-inclusionary-housing/

Securing affordable home ownership for generations, an interview about the Secure Home programme

In this episode, I interview Sam Stout and David Diaper who are homeowners of the Secure Home programme in Queenstown, as well as Corina Sommerville who is a staff member with the programme. I really like this program is because keeps housing affordable for generations into the future.
Secure Home is an assisted ownership program created by the Queenstown Lakes, Community Housing Trust.  Designed as a stepping stone to independent home ownership, this program provides people the chance to purchase a quality and secure tenure home at an affordable price. The model works by separating the land from the improvements. So, a household only needs to purchase the house, whilst the trust owns the land. The programme was launched by QLCHT in 2019 and is now being offered by other community housing trusts around Aotearoa. (quote from Julie Scott)
Rather than being seen by programme homeowners as a loss (not being able to sell it at windfall profits on the open market), they see it as a legacy.  As David says in the interview, “It's quite reassuring. I find it quite satisfying to think that when we're at a point where we  want to move on somewhere else or not within the needs of the housing trust, that it will go on to be beneficial to another family that need it. That's, actually hugely satisfying to us--that it's always going to remain as an awesome asset for other families that struggle to access housing in this area.”
Photo details:
Family pictured is not Sam and David.  They are another family in the Secure Home programme, Kenny and Carrie Vaugh.  Photo courtesy of Run in the Shadows.  On the left, Corina Sommerville and on the right, Zola Rose
 
Other news & info:
Common Ground supports local government to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities and to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities (Local Government Act 2002) particularly as it relates to community-led housing, neighbourhoods, and human settlements.
See this webpage for more information: https://www.commonground.net.nz/councilsupport
 
The Cooperative Living network in Nelson-Tasman is holding workshops and networking events for those interested in the idea of some sort of cooperative living/intentional community arrangement.
I hold a Regenerative and Tiny Home Community Mastermind online for people who are leading such projects anywhere in the country, every two months.  
For more details and to register for either/both projects, go to: https://www.commonground.net.nz/projects
 
There is a national Housing Survey to gather data on how people are currently living and the factors that affect those living arrangements as well as what people aspire to if they had more choice and support.  This survey is the first of its kind in Aotearoa to gather data on collective housing (co-housing, co-living, papakāinga, cooperative housing, ecovillage) as a housing choice.   We'll be hosting Greer to share all about it in the next month or two.
Find the survey here: https://www.nzhousingsurvey.co.nz/
 
Australia just launched its national Community Land Trust Network.  
The main benefits a CLT can offer include: affordable and secure housing in perpetuity, ecological land stewardship and conservation, halt gentrification, affordable land for food production, and community empowerment and agency in housing and land use.
See the video of their launch which gives an overview of the model and how its already benefitting the missing middle in Australia:
https://youtu.be/51WhSIR73jY?si=E2jj1KFRLPtUwoAw

A land trust model for affordable home ownership, interview with Peter Southwick of Bridge Housing Trust

I interview Peter Southwick, a Trustee of the Bridge Housing Trust in the Waikato, on their land trust model for affordable home ownership. We discuss how this model works, could be replicated around the country, as well as what levers need to be pulled to make it happen. Bridge Housing Trust has replicated the successful “Secure Home” model from the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) where the cost of the house to buy does not include buying the land. Instead, the Trust holds the land for the wider community to always be able to offer affordable housing in perpetuity. 
What is different about Bridge Housing Trust is that, unlike QLCHT which was initiated by the District government, it was kicked off by a philanthropist who wanted to make his land available for affordable housing and so formed a Trust to be able to hold ownership of that land.I asked Peter what he believes are the leverage points and what he would do for housing if he had a magic wand. Actually, what we realised is that it doesn’t take magic to create better housing outcomes but it does take the more powerful role players of central and local government, financial institutions, big industry employers, and land-owning philanthropists to be bold, proactive, collaborative and then invest in and enable these tried-and-tested housing models.
For more information on Bridge Housing Trust and to see images and more stories, visit their website at: https://bridgehousing.co.nz/
Zola Rose is a consultant with Common Ground, supporting local councils, communities and stakeholders to enable affordable, connected and resilient communities
To get regular inspiration, resources, and updates on the topics of affordable, connected, resilient, and community engagement for regenerative housing communities, keep in touch:
Visit the Common Ground website, sign up for our newsletter, get the many resources we offer there, book a meeting with me, engage our services for your project, and more…: https://www.commonground.net.nz/
If you’d like to be a guest or sponsor of the show, go to this link:
https://www.commonground.net.nz/show
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Housing Action Reform Enthusiasts are working for housing justice, with Ruth Gerzon

This episode is a recording of the Women Revolutionising Housing (WRH) learning and networking event where Ruth Gerzon, a WRH member, shares about her efforts championing for housing justice in her hometown of Whakatāne, in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ruth and others formed a group called the Whakatāne Housing Action Reform Enthusiasts which makes the acronym WHARE, which means home/house in Te Reo Māori, to address the housing justice issues in her community. 
In this episode you will hear of the great strategies Ruth and WHARE have done '
how she mobilises her community to present about their housing challenges,
gets the media to cover the issues,
gets her local council to participate and start to address these challenges from a systems perspective,
and the ways in which they are able to bring the community's voice to the forefront to shape the future of housing in Whakatāne.
Her presentation can be found here: https://bit.ly/3PPQHm9
For more information on the show, check out the page on the Common Ground website at https://www.commonground.net.nz/show.  There, you can find a form to apply to be a guest or a sponsor of the show.
While on the CG website, check out what services we offer to councils, for-purpose developers, community housing providers, and community groups who want strategies, support and engagement on community-led, affordable, connected, and regenerative housing.
Please subscribe to this show as well as the Common Ground YouTube channel to get the newest episodes: http://www.youtube.com/@CommonGroundchannel
 

What Homefullness is about and what we have to offer you

In this first episode, I share why I've started the show, the housing challenges that propel me to do this work, and what you can look forward to learning.
With this platform and network, we can catalyse housing and neighbourhoods that are places of belonging, of home, while also providing solutions that address some of the biggest challenges of our time.
You will also hear a beautiful song by one of my neighbours at Riverside community, Florian Pauls, called We Live in Love.