A fight for housing taking care of the dying mother-in-law

By Nita Blake-Persen of RNZ

The friends and whānau of a terminally ill woman who was sent between nine different motels in the last months of her life believe her case shows just how deadly the housing crisis is.

Lisa Diamond died three weeks ago in Auckland Hospital after wounds on her amputated leg and foot became infected.

Until her death, she had been cared for by her son-in-law Jono Collard, who said that while she was terminal, the stress and pressure of having to move from one unsuitable motel to another meant that she died earlier than necessary.

Collard, from Ngāpuhi and Tūhoe, was a truck driver until two years ago, but stopped working to take care of Diamond, following a promise he made to his partner Mel before she died.

The couple were together for almost 12 years when she passed away from cancer in 2017.

“I wanted to make sure that my little girl’s soul could rest easy knowing that I would be there for her mother.

“Lisa told me to go ahead, but I turned around and said: that was your only daughter, there’s no way I’m leaving you alone.”

Diamond had suffered kidney failure and had both legs amputated. Collard took care of her all day.

While he is not a caregiver by trade, he certainly is by nature: he acted as her forklift, the motor in her wheelchair, arranged for her dialysis, helped her bathe and whatever else she needed.

That care was made much more difficult when in October of last year they had to move out of the Mount Wellington home they had rented for years because the owner was selling.

With the private market too expensive, and no public housing available, they were put into emergency housing and started a hellish battle to find a suitable place to live.

Collard described moving between nine different motels as torture, as they struggled with accessibility issues, health and safety concerns, and limited space.

Without proper showers, Lisa had to bathe with a bucket, in other places she had to use disposable urinals because they couldn’t take her to the toilet.

Collard had to carry her up some steep steps and sometimes sleep on a mattress on the floor because there was only one bed available.

Most of the time she shared a room with her mother-in-law, she said the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) rejected her requests for her own space, adding to the pressure.

The stress of all this was taking its toll when Diamond was admitted to Auckland Hospital just over a month ago, with infections related to her amputated wounds, and eventually passed away.

“You could see him every day, see her growing weaker,” Collard said.

“I mean she was a terminal patient, she had a list, a list of problems, but she had that list a long time ago, it didn’t go down that fast when we had our own place. I feel like I would still be alive if we had our own place nine months ago. “.

Diamond’s kidney social worker Leigh agrees that the whole system disappointed Diamond and Collard.

“Finding a home was impossible due to being a beneficiary and the cost involved, and then trying to solve everyone’s needs with him and Lisa.

“He couldn’t find a house to rent either, so they were really stuck between a rock and a hard place and there was no choice for them, and no one had a choice.”

She has no doubt that housing problems added to Diamond’s deteriorating health.

“In Lisa’s case – she had an abscess on her leg – and having to bounce, not having a place where she could stand, or where she could feel safe or feel good, would have affected her in the end.

“It’s almost a depression that comes when you don’t have a home … they moved out of a big house to be walked around in motels for months.”

In a statement, MSD expressed condolences for Diamond’s passing and said that she had supported Collard with a Living Allowance Payment as her caregiver and provided her with emergency accommodation.

In July, Kāinga Ora offered Collard and Diamond a property, which was rejected because access was not adequate.

MSD said that public housing supply remains a huge challenge, but that is particularly the case in relation to the type of specialized affordable housing that Diamond requires.

The ministry continues to work with Collard and says it is providing him with emergency shelter and all available supports.

Collard’s friend of more than 20 years, Josh Pou, said he had seen his friend at his wits end for the past 12 months, trying to get Diamond the accommodation he needed.

“It got into the cracks of the system … the system is made for many, not just one.”

The Diamond and Collard motel bill has reached $ 110,000.

Collard doesn’t understand how some of that government money wasn’t put to better use, potentially through a bathroom upgrade to give Diamond some comfort.

He is determined that no one else should go through what they did.

“If we had taken Lisa to hospice, we could have been looking for $ 200,000 a year to care for someone like that … I just wanted to take a pinch of that and give her some of the quality of life she deserved.”

Collard is still trying to find a permanent place to live; He is receiving weekly authorization from MSD to stay at the current motel.

But he’s looking ahead and up, with his sights now set on becoming a professional caregiver after seeing the rewards he gained from his time with Diamond.

“When you get a smile from someone who has nothing to smile about, it is worth more than money … and this lady has nothing to smile about.”

– Checkpoint, RNZ