A new chapter for Happiness House

For more than 30 years, Happiness House has been a place where people come for practical support, connection, friendship and a sense of belonging.

Our current home has served our community well, but our lease ends in October 2028 and will not be renewed. That means we need to find a new home for Happiness House.

While this is a significant challenge, we also see it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a permanent home that will support our community for the next 30 years and beyond.

What we’re looking for

Our preferred outcomes, in order, are:

1. Land that Happiness House can own

Our ideal outcome is land that allows us to establish a permanent home for the community. The site may already have a suitable building, or it may simply be land where we can build or relocate an existing home.

2. A long-term lease

If ownership isn’t possible, we’re looking for a long-term lease or lease-to-own arrangement that provides genuine security for the future.

We’re also open to creative partnerships with developers, landowners, businesses, philanthropists and community organisations if they help achieve this long-term vision.

What our future home looks like

The easiest way to picture it is simple:

Think of today’s Happiness House… just a little bigger.

We’re not looking to become something different. The heart of Happiness House isn’t changing.

We simply need a little more space for the things we already do every day, including:

• a larger community kitchen
• more private meeting rooms
• flexible activity spaces
• better accessibility and circulation throughout the building
• outdoor areas where people can gather, garden and connect.

How you can help

Finding our next home will happen through community connections. Here’s how you can help:

Make an introduction
Do you know a developer, landowner, planner, architect, property professional, funder or someone involved in community development? We’d love to meet them.

Keep your eyes open
If you hear about available land, a suitable property, or a potential partnership opportunity, please let us know.

Share our story
Every conversation expands our network and increases the chances of the right opportunity finding us.

Point us in the right direction
Know of an event, business network, community group or industry forum where we should be sharing our story? We’d love to hear your ideas.

Get in touch

If you have an idea, a contact or simply want to start a conversation, we’d love to hear from you.

Please contact Jen Geale, Chair, at jen@jengeale.com.

Learn more

Following our Community Kōrero, Katie Todd from RNZ wrote a thoughtful story about our search for a new home. It’s a great introduction to why this matters and the role Happiness House plays in our community.

Thank you

We’re incredibly grateful for the encouragement, introductions and ideas we’ve already received.

Finding Happiness House’s next home isn’t something we’ll do alone. It will happen because a community of people cares enough to make connections, open doors and help create a place where everyone continues to feel welcome.

If you can help in any way, we’d love to hear from you.