Kia ora

It is with much sadness that we are contacting you to let you know Homebuilders Family Services will be stopping all services and closing later this year.

17 months ago, the Government directed Oranga Tamariki to make cost savings and Oranga Tamariki subsequently cut the funding to over 200 community groups around the country and Homebuilders was one of those groups. We have never received an explanation about why our funding was cut, or any direction from Oranga Tamariki about where the hundreds of families, youth, and children we support each year could instead access support.  

That funding cut saw us lose approximately 60% of our annual income in one fell swoop. Despite exploring many options, it has proved impossible to find a way to replace the lost income and it is no longer viable for us to remain open.

Impact on services:

• From the 24th of July, we will only be able to receive new referrals for short term support (2 or 3 sessions) until mid-September. 

• We will have stopped working with all people, by the end of October.

• Unfortunately, we are no longer able to pick up any complex or longer-term support work.

We want to give a huge thank you to all the individuals and organisations who have supported Homebuilders in a myriad of ways over the last 37 years, kia kaha.

We are aware that other agencies have been facing similar financial decisions, not because their work isn’t needed or of a high quality, but rather because we seem to have “a government who understands the cost of everything, and the value of nothing".

Nga mihi, The Homebuilders Team