Are you renovating, spring-cleaning, or freshening your windows with new curtains? If so, Sustainability Options is in desperate need of donated curtains to help warm the homes of fellow Bay of Plenty residents.

The 'altruistic business” based in Tauranga, which provides free environmental and social sustainability advice and guidance to Bay of Plenty residents in need, is currently short of curtains.

Sustainability Options marketing and communications coordinator Teri Dawson estimates there are currently 29,000 homes in the region that are exposed to unhealthy living conditions.

Through their Healthy Homes Initiative, Sustainability Options visit nearly 1000 of these homes each year.

'Our specially trained housing assessors look for ways to draft-proof houses, and to aid in the retention of heat within the home.

'They also provide residents with education around the importance of having dry and healthy homes.”

Teri says the repercussions of having damp, cold and poorly ventilated conditions within the home are significant.

'These factors create an environment where the risk of mould growth is increased.

'The health of residents is often negatively impacted, with the young, old, and those with respiratory or other health concerns greatly affected.”

Teri says good quality, well-fitting curtains covering all windows are one of the primary ways to keep a house warm and dry.

'Curtains are so vital for insulation in a home,” says Teri.

'They really help to keep the heat in and are great for saving energy – therefore money on the power bill also.”

While Sustainability Options receives funding from Te Whatu Ora, Teri says they are extremely reliant on donations.

'Heaters, blankets, and children's clothing are always needed – but at present, curtains are top of the wish-list.”

The Red Cross run the Curtain Bank and have volunteers who are experts at sewing quality liners on to curtains donated without them already attached.

'It's the double-lining on the curtains that really does the job of retaining heat,” says Teri.

Another initiative of Sustainability Options is the 20° Programme.

'The aim [of this programme] is to assist low-income families across the Bay to maintain a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius inside their homes throughout the year,” says Teri.

'The World Health Organisation recommends this as the minimum optimal temperature for homes with young children, elderly people or those who are ill.”

Sustainability Options achieves this, through the programme, by helping with home repairs and maintenance for those who qualify for assistance.

If you have curtains to donate, or blankets and heaters, drop them off at 59 Seventh Ave, Tauranga City or to the Hillier Centre, 31 Gloucester Rd, Mount Maunganui.

Catherine Sylvester