44 Years of Creating Homes

Jo Sharpe here, Partnerships and Engagement Manager. Today I’m celebrating my one-year anniversary with Dwell Housing Trust and, coincidentally, it’s the organisation’s 44th birthday as well.

On 7 October 1981, several passionate individuals, concerned about the gentrification of Mt Victoria, came together to create homes for key workers and others on low incomes who would otherwise have been pushed out by rising rents. Their goal was to help people remain part of their own community, and to avoid the high transport costs that moving out of the city would have imposed, further straining their modest incomes.

Today, Dwell supports 250 people across Wellington with secure, affordable, and healthy homes. We are both a developer and a tenancy manager, building strong relationships with our residents so we can support them as they navigate life’s challenges.

So, what have I learned from my year at Dwell? Primarily, that we are small but mighty.

Advocacy has always been a significant part of our mahi, and especially so over the past year. We are deeply concerned about the growing homeless population and are eager to be part of the solution. Our work is driven by the needs of Wellingtonians.

Dwell knows that to meet our communities’ needs, we must partner with others and pool resources. We are excited about the partnerships we are developing and look forward to what we can achieve together.

While Dwell is a charity, we have a big business brain: years of experience as developers and tenancy managers; strong processes and infrastructure capable of powering a much bigger ship; and a committed staff and Board bringing a wealth of expertise and lived experience that help us serve our community to the best of our ability.

Hundreds of people have helped shape Dwell into the organisation it is today - not least our tenants, whose feedback and guidance inform our mahi and help us shape a Wellington that meets its communities’ needs. We stand on their shoulders.

Dwell is an organisation I’ve loved getting to know, and one I hope to support for many years to come.