Homeless people account for about 42,000 New Zealanders and Doug and Krystal say the Orange Sky service is “so helpful” to them. They say great to know they can shower, wash their clothes and “have interesting chats”. Put another way, that’s nearly the same as the population of Whanganui, a couple of thousand fewer than Read more
Last Thursday Chris Bishop MP asked the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment about people sleeping in cars. It’s almost impossible to know, exactly, how many people sleep in cars. “None”, would be the best answer. But this isn’t a “best answer” world. One measure is how many people on the Housing Register (essentially Read more
Bracing for the relentless onslaught of wet winter days, people living on the streets of Auckland declare themselves warriors in an unyielding battle to stay warm. In the last year, the number of residents notifying Auckland City Mission about the welfare of people sleeping rough has doubled. The notifications sounded the alarm on the dire Read more
Men are New Zealand’s most vulnerable when it comes to housing. Men seem particularly vulnerable to housing insecurity, says Greg, a peer support worker with Lifewise, who works with men experiencing homelessness. He told RNZ’s The Detail they’re often facing a web of other personal challenges. Thinking of the people he works with now, Greg Read more
Ignoring Māori homelessness and failing to implement effective Māori housing policies is a Crown breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says the Waitangi Tribunal. The Tribunal says the first stage of its inquiry into the Crown’s housing policy and services from 2009 to 2021 is now complete. It found the Crown’s actions breached Te Tiriti Read more
Significant concerns about housing have emerged again. Cyclone Gabrielle’s brutal aftermath has left thousands of people homeless. New Zealand already had a housing shortage – so where to accommodate the newly displaced is a huge question. Housing’s short. Demand exceeds supply. Rents are brutal. How will they – can they – pay the price? The Read more
Killer streets and revolting racism summarise the Auckland City Missioner’s view of the world from a homeless person’s perspective. These streets are where hundreds of vulnerable people live – and die. A disproportionate number are Māori. Homelessness is a terrible situation, says Helen Robinson. It can take up to 30 years off someone’s life. It Read more
The government cannot give a deadline for phasing out emergency motel accommodation, but the Social Development Minister told Checkpoint she would reveal the results of a review and redesign by the end of the year. A “bloody fiasco”, a “failed govt experiment”, and “tantamount to child abuse” – some of the descriptions of the accommodation. Read more
It’s time to farewell Monte Cecilia’s outgoing CEO Bernie Smith. Smith told CathNew he is leaving on Wednesday. The Catholic housing trust has been flooded with messages since Smith announced his resignation last month. It’s clear he’ll be missed. Big time. Smith is modest about his involvement with the Trust. “Empowering the disempowered, housing the Read more
The rainbow community faces homelessness at a significantly higher rate than other New Zealanders, new research shows. The study explored the relationship between Takatāpui/LGBTIQ+ and homelessness, and was carried out by researcher Dr Brodie Fraser. Earlier research from Fraser examined the experiences of eight people from the LGBTIQ+ community who had been homeless. There was Read more