- The Guild Street Housing Community in Christchurch’s Shirley suburb has 16 homes and a community house
- Anglican agencies provided the land on a 34-year lease; Methodist agencies bought the houses
- The homes are former earthquake temporary houses placed on permanent foundations
- Tenants come from the social housing register, including two refugee families
A new social housing community built on church land opened in Christchurch’s Shirley suburb in 2021, Anglican Taonga reported on March 13, 2021.
The Guild Street Housing Community is a partnership between Anglican and Methodist social service agencies. Anglican organisations provided the land under a 34-year lease, and Methodist agencies bought the houses, which are former Earthquake Commission temporary homes now set on permanent foundations. There are two two-bedroom, 12 three-bedroom and two four-bedroom homes, plus a community house.
Residents are families from the social housing register, described as “a wonderfully diverse group” of Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika and Afghan families, including two refugee families. A full-time community development worker, René Demeglilio, funded for five years by the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust, runs cooking classes, budgeting sessions and after-school clubs.
“A dozen homes in one place means ‘One visit, 12 cups of tea’ and that means there’s real opportunity to build a community,” said Bishop Peter Carrell.
The Guild Street model is simple enough to copy in Jamaica: one church body supplies land on a long lease, another supplies the houses, and a trust pays for support. Jamaican denominations with unused land near towns could work with housing charities, credit unions or diaspora groups in the same way, keeping ownership of the land while putting it to use for families who need homes.
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