Thousands more are couch surfing, living in vehicles and constantly moving through a series of short-term temporary accommodation.

The latest statistics released showed that New Zealand has about 102,000 people experiencing homelessness - similar to the population of Dunedin.

The Golden Mile no more

In Wellington homeless people are evident, day and night.

They sleep on the footpaths in what was once called the Golden Mile in Lambton Quay and Willis Street.

Wellington's Downtown Community Ministry director Stephen Turnock says there's been a 40 percent increase in homelessness in Wellington.

Last month 464 homeless or rough sleepers came to them for help - 134 more than at the same time last year.

Ihe increasing cost of living and challenges around housing affordability contribute to the rise in homelessness - and the situation is getting worse, Turnock says.

Emergency housing rules tightened

In August, the Government introduced tougher emergency housing eligibility and stand down rules.

The effect was instant.

Emergency housing is now harder for people to access, Turnock says.

"I guess ... by applying harsher criteria and applying harsher rules - there's a perception that people are in this situation as a result of poor choices and their own decisions - what we don't see is that the systemic failures are being taken into account.

"So therefore, when we're looking at these policies, they need to also consider the complex challenges these people are facing."

Many coming to Downtown Community Ministry are in crisis, in the midst of some form of mental health or addiction problem, he says.

Besides housing, they also need access to mental health services, addiction services and support networks.

All those issues need to be taken in consideration, "not just access to an inappropriate shelter such as a motel" Turnock says.

Growing long-term problem

It's getting harder to find sustainable solutions but, with insufficient housing, it's like mission impossible.

"We've been struggling to find places. I think the whole sector has for many years, and the people who we support are the people who are like least likely to actually get access to a safe, warm home.

"We're seeing an increase in terms of barriers [to] the people we support, in terms of accessing the appropriate level of supports and resources such as health, such as employment, such as finance access.

"Things have gotten tough and many people throughout New Zealand are experiencing this and the group of people that we support are the ones who probably experience it the hardest."

Alternative pathways and solutions are needed to provide long-term, safe, affordable housing for everybody - especially people most at risk and experiencing homelessness.

While he agrees with the Government that emergency housing is not something that we should need or should rely on, it's needed now.

We have short-term solutions but Government support, new houses and an increase in housing access is fundamental to making this happen, he says.

Source

• RNZ

The mother of two this week moved into her new home in Taita with partner Jaiden​ Ah-Waihi​ and children Leiloa, 5​, and Jhavis, 9​.

Having spent time in a motel after living with her mum, Vaoga is delighted to have found somewhere permanent and suitable for her children. "It feels like home."

Her new home - part of a 19-home development called Te Ara o Takapu Taita​ - is a joint project between the Hutt City Council's council-controlled organisation Urban Plus Limited, social support agency Kahungunu Whanau Services and Waiwhetu-based iwi Te Runanganui o Te Ati Awa​. Read more

A "bloody fiasco", a "failed govt experiment", and "tantamount to child abuse" - some of the descriptions of the accommodation.

Resource consent is being sought for 13 Rotorua motels to keep operating as emergency housing for another five years.

Motels were supposed to be a short-term solution, but the bill for the scheme is topping a billion dollars since Labour took office in 2017. Read more

A slide presentation by the Rotorua Lakes Council, obtained by the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend, also reveals Government officials were warned about the city's dire situation in February last year.

The presentation described Rotorua as being on a "downward spiralling poverty crisis exacerbated by siloed Government initiatives".

The number of people staying in emergency housing in Rotorua has dropped in the past month and Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said she wanted to see an end to longer-term emergency housing within five years. Read more

Housing providers say the on-again, off-again provisions are frustrating. They can't always secure safe accommodation for their clients each time stay-at-home orders are lifted.

One provider says: "As soon as the lockdown ends, we have the difficult job of then working with people to say ‘well that's over now, what are we going to do about your housing, where you're going to live?'," he said.

"That's not always easy, and it doesn't always lead to great outcomes."

He says homeless people often return to the streets, boarding homes or couch-surfing.

His concerns are echoed by the chief executive of another of the State's housing providers.

"What's really challenging, is every time there's a lockdown, we're instructed to ramp up housing [for] rough sleepers and placing them into hotel accommodation and then, as soon as the lockdown is over, we get told, ‘okay, now you have to start holding off on paying for that'," he says.

Victoria has gone in and out of lockdown four times this year. It's currently into its sixth lockdown since the pandemic began last year. More lockdowns are expected before the State's vaccination-rate targets are met.

Although there aren't nearly as many people in the State's hotels for homeless program during the state's sixth lockdown than there were last year, the number of places available is not capped. If stay-at-home orders remain in place, the number of people seeking help is expected to rise.

This is in part due to the 1,223 people who have been moved from hotels into houses as part of a 'From Homelessness to a Home' program. While more than half the State's target have been accommodated via that program those who missed out are waiting to be processed in hotels.

Housing provider Bevan Warner is applauding calls in an Infrastructure Victoria report to continue to increase social housing. The State's enviable program to build 12,000 new social and affordable homes by 2024 needs to be expanded, he says.

A government spokesperson says there have been 19,000 placements in the homeless hotel program since the start of the pandemic. There were 1667 people in the program last week.

Source

• The Age
• Image: Reuters