AMI and Habitat for Humanity team up to help Kiwis access warm, dry homes.
An exciting three-year partnership between AMI and Habitat for Humanity is helping more Kiwis access healthy, dry and warm housing.
AMI knows that safe and stable homes help to build strong and healthy families, and supports Habitat for Humanity’s philosophy that everyone deserves a decent place to live.
“Our partnership with AMI is helping to transform the lives of 75,000 Kiwis over the next three years, and we are so excited about that,” says Habitat for Humanity NZ Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Thorp.
Nearly a quarter of New Zealand homes are affected by dampness and nearly 17 per cent have visible mould, which can cause respiratory problems.
Founded in the United States during the Civil Rights era, Habitat for Humanity aims to remove barriers to housing for vulnerable families. It has been in New Zealand since 1993 and in that time has helped more than 530 families into their own homes through a progressive home ownership programme.
The community housing provider also delivers home repair and maintenance services, healthy home checks for families referred via district health boards and Te Puni Kokiri, and in the Auckland region runs a busy curtain bank.
There are also 22 ReStore shops around the country where Habitat for Humanity sells new, pre-loved and repurposed goods.
Habitat for Humanity knows it could do even more great work, especially if it was able to make more Kiwis aware of what it does. And that’s where AMI, with its high brand recognition and trust, comes in.
AMI has provided home and contents insurance to Kiwis for more than 90 years, and has a special interest in keeping homes safe for families.
“This relationship enhances our ability to get the message of housing deprivation out, and creates a group of New Zealanders who support what we're doing as an organisation,” says Alan.
“Housing is an incredibly complex system. Habitat looks at those systems and we say, ‘How can we bring down the barriers to enable vulnerable people to have access to housing?’”
The satisfaction of contributing to that mission is something that binds all of the people who work and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity - it’s the humanity part of the equation.
“Once you see one or two families’ lives transformed, it's incredibly powerful. That's why I do my job, that's why I come here every morning.”
