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A BIG problem with a teeny tiny solution!

  • I tried , but it wasn’t good enough :(

      9 November 2022
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    Hey lovely people :),

    This is my last update in this page .

    My page had an end date . I could have extended it because of my evacuation status but decided not to My reasons are many , but the largest being that this didnt work for me no matter how hard I tried . I worked my butt off trying to sell my story as worthy . I spent hours everyday sending my page to people on social media ,, I made videos , I wrote stories , I went on tik tok lives had a live gig benefit show in my honour , like suggested , I also went to media , was even on TV but nothing seemed to get me success that other pages in here had . It was hard to not question my validity amongst other pages that were doing shockingly well in only a matter of weeks, .

    It really does come down to who you know , who has the time and energy to help you . Family and friends on your team helps for sure , so when you lack those things, it’s a one man show , and it’s disheartening and easy to give up . I started feeling I was a nuisance , people write back saying they couldn’t help as everyone is struggling right now , and I agree.

    I want to thank every single person who donated , my dream is still alive , I’m still going to fight to make it a reality . I’m going to use the hours I spent a day promoting this , to promote something else , like my recipes and textiles . Maybe then I’ll have the kind of following needed to get these pages to a bigger audience . It’s not not bad . The motel is safe until end of February at this point . One less concern .

    My other page is still live on here if people would like to donate to Something that is more attainable and not far from the goal now ! Maybe we can have success in one page !

    Look up ‘baby I was born to walk this way ‘ in the search :) !

    I have also joined the website ‘buy me a coffee ‘ people can buy me a coffee and encourage me to keep creating , as I truely thing that has to be the answer !

    https://www.buymeacoffee.com/onefabknitter

    Thanks again,

    Much love

    Norelle

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  • Fundraiser gig.. come see my beautiful daughter !

      15 October 2022
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    Hi everyone .

    I’m sorry for the lack of updates , I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with the situation and struggling to know what to do !

    My beautiful daughter khailana has organised a fundraising gig this this at Valhalla in Wellington .. I have added a video so you can hear her angelic voice , and a picture of the poster showing other amazing artists . All funds will go to this cause .

    For anyone donating , please consider passing this on again, pass it on to Wellington people , to people who may like to donate who haven’t yet . When you donate it gives you a ‘badge ‘ that you can pop on your social media pages , it says I donated to this cause . I’m happy to show you what to do if someone wants to give it a go .

    I was delighted to be approved a computer and sone kitchen appliances via mayoral relief fund , so I can contribute fundraising Ideas with a vegan gluten free cook book . I also hope to collect up materials again so I can plan out creations to sell , all funds from that will buy back materials needed to enter wow again.

    I’m not going to lie … I’m a little scared . Each day that goes on without a housing solution is nerve wracking . I’m worried about what’s next . For now I can breath easy , I have a motel booking until November 13 .

    Thanks again to all the kind souls who believe in my dream and for the kindness .

    Norelle

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  • Friendships are rare .. or are they ?

      15 September 2022
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    Having a moment, please bare with me . I have some friend and family envy today . I see that others seem to have it in abundance , even people evacuated like me . I don’t think people can truely understand the profound loneliness having no family or friends locally when a flooding event happens . To be faced with the cold hard truth that the main contacts are carers , therapists and friends on a little screen . People think I have freedom now but I don’t because I still can’t access the room I am in . If I do leave the room. Where does one go , when they are used to being stuck behind 4 walls . I’m identifying with the girls who were locked away for years , resurfacing .. it feels like that . The world is scary when you don’t yet belong .

    I’m super glad to be out of that house and be away from that hill but I am hurting today , being confronted with just how much I have truly lost. And that’s ok 👍

    I miss my bubble . I miss it because I could pretend things were better then the reality outside . I had an abundance of friends online , people who wanted to spend time with me and best of all didn’t give up on me .

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  • Displaced but determined !

      7 September 2022

    Today started off a little emotional so excuse the puffy eyes , both from tears and allergies 🤧 . I joke that it’s the only time I start looking my age . I currently have waves of panic anytime I think of the civil defence emergency accomodation ending …but I’m trying hard to think of ways to get funding happening so I can help myself and my 21 year old with autism get into our own place .

    I am doing everything I can , to get these pages seen, including tv interviews . And still this page is hardly being looked at . I don’t believe it is my story that is the issue . i just keep missing the opportunities to be seen that’s all . 🙁

    I’ll try again tomorrow … it might just be a better day !

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  • Re- entry day today

      2 September 2022
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    Hi everyone ,

    I thought it was a good time to write an update now I have relaxed a little , after the escorted re-entry we had to our red stickered property today .

    I have lost soo much sleep once we were given the ok to enter the house to grab personal effects . So many emotions . One being “15 minutes !!!!! “ geeeee

    First off we knew I couldn’t get into the house due to the steepness, 6 stairs and no railing. I couldn’t use the back door as the back is off limits due to the hill still coming down . We noticed another tree had fallen when we arrived, and the house at the top seemed more exposed as well ! The longer I sat in the car the more triggered I felt . The emotions were missed because it was home , but it was also my prison for 16 months . It was unsafe and put others lives around risk trying to get me out . It made me angry at the services . That more wasn’t done to get me out of there before this traumatic event did .

    Sitting in the car looking at the house it felt threatening for so many reasons . I was happy to be staying in the car and not feeling the emotions if I went back inside .

    We decided on 3 people going in - 21 year old , their partner and her mum . I was on video call the whole time. I pointed out what I could and they packed . It was a good tag team effort !The geotechnical and civil defence workers allowed us more time as they were doing a property 2 houses down … some relief but still time went far too quickly ! You barely have time to think really … it’s something most can’t imagine doing. Picking a handful of things , and trying not to feel guilty about the mess or things left behind !

    It was a real exercise in letting things go , realising things you felt were important , really weren’t .

    I had to laugh … out of everything we grabbed , David Bowie wasn’t one of the things I expected to rescue ;p

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  • Officially homeless

      26 August 2022
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    The last few days have been hard.

    I’m an emotional rollercoster. I am processing what was, what is and what could be all at once.

    This is my day for grieving . My day for worrying about how to get the items I need and not being sure when or if I’ll see my belongings again. Talking myself out of needing any of it , then 5 minutes later thinking of something I really miss or need.

    There is a panic about where I will go next , then for a few days I feel a sense of relief because civil defence rings to tell me the next motel is booked for a fortnight so no need to worry . The relief is immense. I will be try to relax for 8 days of that … but that pesky worry will start again you can bet. .

    I have been feeling on edge a little the last few days, certain sounds making me jump or feel like something bad is going to happen . I know it’s to be expected after the trauma of evacuating, so I’ll take up the offer to talk to someone next week. The sound of that darn hill coming down, wants to play over and over when I close my eyes., it’s not every night thank goodness , but has woken me up a few times now, with a sense of dread that I am forced to go back to that house because there is nowhere accessible to go yet.

    All I can say is Thank god I wake up from that dream.

    I have to believe that will not happen . .

    I have had donations of food, vouchers , kitchen things and clothing . I’ll do a video update tomorrow and let people know that’s going on behind the scenes . It’s not all sadness and worry as you’ll all see .

    Thanks for the encouragement to keep believing in my dream. It’s what is getting me through this terrible time .

    Please pass this page to your friends and family if you wonder how else you can help :)

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  • Evacuated from my house :(

      20 August 2022
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    My reason for starting this page have come to fruition. I have been evacuated from my house due to major slippage behind . The bank has come down , crashing through the retainer wall and is up to my backdoor last time I saw images . Trees, rocks and lots of clay has rained down burying my yard entirely , landing on the garage roof etc .

    It was incredibly upsetting as a disabled person to have to try to leave a house in a hurry , when you can’t get down stairs . I had 2 people help me down , it took 20 minutes from door to car . Hardly acceptable in a crisis like this. I felt terrible putting my child and their partner at risk needing to wait for me .

    I managed to grab the trial wheelchair , sone lef and neck bracing but other than that , very little else .

    I have no idea when I can go home but civil defence have put me into a motel for up to a week while we hear the fate of that property .

    I’m scared , not knowing where I’ll go if the house is deemed unsafe . At the same time I’m scared to return knowing it is a major slip risk anytime it rains .

    Sone things have improved since I last updated … the wheelchair was approved for funding , but still not for crutches , proper carbon fibre knee bracing , and the power assist to propel the wheelchair .

    I’m really noticing the lack of bracing and pain to push the chair around while out of the house . I am trying not to get too upset right now . I accept that nature will do what it wants . It’s more the lack of planning in our city for disabilities and those with chronic illness

    .

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  • Cooking might help !

      8 December 2021
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    Hi everyone,

    As you can see my donations have doubled! I have reached $621~ Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who helped.You might think $5 won’t make any difference, but honestly it really does. 🙏 imagine if everyone that read this put that in …

    Not much has happened health wise,.I’m still waiting on the wheelchair, and have not heard back regarding ACC treatment injury Claim., apparently if your case is complex, they are allowed 9 months to make a decision…FML! So in the meantime, I’m desperately trying to think of ways to get out of this situation.

    There are roadworks outside everyday now, 7am-5pm ..I cant escape it, so it might be timE to find some noise cancelling headphones!

    I have started a TikTok channel, not something I ever thought I’d do!! I hope to go live with my cooking tips or knitting that might help others. It is also a good way to stay connected to people while stuck inside the walls of this place. Many say its a good way to advertise your fundraising, so I’ll give it a try! I currently have 521 followers, so over half way to the required 1000!

    I have a Instagram page for my vegan recipes that I have decided to take off instagram and put into my very first cook book. So if anyone is interested, I’ll pop the details up when it is completed:) I’m investigating how it could become an app as well.

    All funds raised from it will come to this campaign. :)

    I’m also making up clothing and toys when energy allows , and have been teaching myself to crochet, to see if this method might be faster for me:)

    Hope everyone is well.

    Take care everyone .stay safe ,

    Norelle

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  • I have $315 more than I had before !

      19 November 2021
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    Wow 🤩 $315 closer to my dream .

    Thanks so much for the support , I thought I should update you all on what I have been working on in the background … I am a costume designer / knitwear designer so it seems fair that I would turn to these skills to try to fundraise … I will load the website once it is live , I have something fun planned with my dolls so hope it helps to gravitate people to my cause :) I am also writing some books that will be sold to fundraise as well . One is a vegan cook book , the other is a book on EDS .

    So watch this space :)

    Thank you to everyone who continue to share my page around ! I turn 50 on the 27th November , so maybe I should start a donation poster to try for 50 donations , or $50 donations ?!

    I’ll get back to the knitting and think about it :)

    Norelle x

    Ps the blog is up and running

    www.tiny house solution.wordpress.com

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