Published on 4th of February, 2026
CMM’s Guild St social housing complex is a wonderful success story and a great example of building community through social housing. In 2019, CMM purchased sixteen relocatable homes (left over from earthquake recovery) and placed them on land leased from Anglican Care. One house was set aside as a Community House where a community development worker, funded by the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust, would be based for a five- year period.
Whānau moved into Guild St in 2020 knowing that their houses could become their ‘forever homes’ if they wished. The result has been an outstanding success, often in unexpected ways. Community development worker, Rene Demegilio, recalls that on just his 2nd day he was collecting rubbish bins blown over by the wind: “And I met two of the kids and they started helping me out. And that was the start of it – the kids coming in and just hanging out and saying they’d like to help me.”
No one anticipated the enthusiasm with which the children would embrace the possibilities of building community at Guild St. As one tenant said: “The kids broke the ice for all of us. They would come over, so that got us used to getting to know everybody.”
From the Community House, Rene baked afterschool cookies, supervised games and school holiday activities, and helped organise celebrations (such as Matariki, Eid and Pasifika language weeks) for the culturally diverse community. He mediated conflicts and crises and offered support to all the Guild St. whānau. The Community House has also provided a base for other CMM staff offering support to tenants.
On-site community development workers and shared community spaces are rare in social housing, but the Guild St project shows how valuable these can be. The tenants speak to this success:
“The Community House became a house for all our children. We got to know our community and in return we were gifted stability, trust and safety in this community.”
“Basic needs, food and other outreach basics are at hand. We have found the support life changing and the social work is so helpful - supporting me to be the best parent.”
And from a young resident: “My [friends] come and see the basketball court, volleyball court and Community House and think I’m rich as, and it’s true, I feel like I’m a millionaire, because we have everything we need here at Guild St.”
The Press published an article and companion video by Maddy Croad entitled “Growing Up on Guild Street” that you can view here.
