Shane Emeny sits at the front door of the state house he is about to move into. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
A New Plymouth man paralysed after a fall, is about a week away from finally moving into a wheelchair-friendly state house, after waiting for more than four years.
Shane Emeny, who became a paraplegic after falling from a five-metre concrete ledge has been staying in a modified emergency housing motel room since the accident.
But the studio space is cramped - he has shared custody of his young son and struggles to fit in all the gear he needs, like his standing frame.
Kāinga Ora finally offered Emeny a house last year but it has taken months for modifications to be made through ACC.
Emeny told Checkpoint while it would be a relief to get into a new, suitable space with his son, emotions were mixed.
"That's four years of my life, time that's been missed... I'm stoked to finally be in a place but it's been a long time coming and a lot of time missed that could have been better."
"From me being an able-bodied person and then disabled and this is the life that you have... you couldn't imagine it to be this way."
After living in a room for nearly four years, Emeny said the new house would be a total change.
"It's a two-bedroom place, has a kitchen, has a laundry, bathroom."
All of those facilities had to be upgraded to fit with Emeny's needs.
"[I need] ramps and a lift to be put in so I can reach up the stairs, there needs to be adequate room for me to park."
Shane Emeny at the entrance to the motel room he's called home for more than four years. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
But it is a far cry from the cramped motel room.
"It's going to be just a total different place from a motel busy space to a quiet cul-de-sac area that's secure. You know that's not going to have people coming and going in my space."
He said the new house would be a game changer for both him and his son Liam.
"I can jump out in the backyard and kick the ball around with Liam... and have a space for me, my standing frame, my ability to do my painting, to come and go.
"It's ultimately gonna be the life that I wanted four years ago or three years ago. So it's, it's a new beginning."
Beyond the physical rewards, Emeny said the mental benefits would also be huge.
"It's going to increase to the point that you know there's some resolve there that hey, we're moving forward, I'm achieving something."
He hopes that in the future, other disabled people trying to access social housing have it easier, and said some standards needed to be lifted.
"Just the contact with people, keep them involved in the conversations and allow them to know what's going on... there hasn't been a lot of [that] cause we don't have a lot of control over these areas.
"We're facing all these systemic sorts of issues about adequate and appropriate housing, there's a lot of things that are sort of getting missed."
He said more people needed to be involved in process, so everyone knew what was going on, not just Kāinga Ora and Housing New Zealand.
"Someone's gonna be coming into this unit when I leave. What's the timeframe for them gonna be? You know, are things getting better? Have they learned from my four years being in here?"
Emeny does not yet have a set move in date, but has been told by Kāinga Ora it will be some time in early August.
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