Age Concern maintains regular contact with tenants | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Council pensioner housing tenants in Wanganui are visited regularly by Age Concern Wanganui, who monitor their welfare.

Tracy Lynn, manager of the Wanganui branch, said it was something staff had done for at least the past 15 years and she believed Age Concern Wanganui was the first in the country to adopt this as a policy.

The issue of tenant safety in council-owned housing hit the headlines when an 88-year-old man's body was found in a Wellington City Council unit more than a year after he died .

Ms Lynn said her office had a contract with the Wanganui District Council to provide welfare checks for its 285 tenants, and one of her team visited tenants every three months to check on their wellbeing.

She said Sue Evans, elder abuse and neglect prevention co-ordinator, was responsible for keeping in touch with the tenants.

"And if Sue makes a visit and finds the person isn't there, she will make the effort to find out where they are. Sometimes she has found the person had been admitted to hospital, so she will visit them there.

"Once she spent a total of 60 hours with a client, helping get some issues sorted out," Ms Lynn said.

The contract meant Ms Evans was in regular contact with district council property managers as well.

"If Sue comes across someone in a unit who's a bit down, she'll give them guidance. That may mean she activates our visitor service or mobility services for that person."

Ms Lynn said there were a lot of elderly folk in Wanganui who still did not understand the services they could access.

"They need to contact our office in St Hill St and we can help them."

- To contact Age Concern Wanganui, ph 345 1799 between 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday.