Mum worries about keeping her four kids warm

Monday, 18 June 2018

Members of the Claire family rug up and wear extra clothes rather than deal with the expense of heating. Clockwise from front: Sean, Sharlene, Rowena and Melody.

Rowena Claire feels like she is failing her children.

It's getting cold in Auckland but she can't afford to turn on the heater, an experience a social service charity says is all too common.

Instead, the single mum has told her four children who live at home to put on more clothes or add another blanket.

'I feel like I am letting my kids down because I can't keep them warm enough and I should be able to,' she said.

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'My daughter goes into her room, and there's no heater in there, and she says 'Mum, it's freezing in there'. And I say, 'just get another blanket'.'

Claire said she already spends $180 a month on power at the Henderson home that she rents.

As temperatures drop, she is left finding alternative ways to keep her children, ranging from 10 years old to 24 years old, warm.

'I tell the kids to put another layer on – because who can spend all that money on heating?'

Any extra hours in her job as part-time retail worker will jeopardise the accommodation supplement she received from Work and Income.

Two older children pay board, when they can, but that can be sporadic, she said.

'Without their board, yes, I could still pay my rent but I would be stuck with other avenues. So, I can't do anything else.'

Claire's experience has become all too common said Brook Turner, head of community services development at VisionWest, a social service charity.

'Obviously power adds a massive stress during winter,' Turner said.

The West Auckland-based organisation was being inundated with requests for blankets as the weather got colder.

According to Turner, there was an emerging class of the working poor in New Zealand, struggling to survive despite full-time employment.

'These families are being forced to make decisions that put them in a worse situation as they borrow to pay power bills. There's a snowball effect of the cold and how it impacts the well being of whanau,' Turner said.

'It has far reaching effects on families that includes finances, hygiene and well being.'

Turner wanted families to come and see the organisation for help.

'We constantly see families who say it's taken them a long time to come here and get help because they feel ashamed, and that guts us - we want to help.'

Carl Hansen, spokesperson for the Electricity Authority, the government agency regulating New Zealand's electricity market, said consumers should talk to their electricity providers about payment options.

'It's worth talking to your retailer to ensure you are on the best deal for your circumstances,' he said.

According to Hansen, the price of electricity stayed relatively constant throughout the year, however usage over winter increased 70-80 per cent.