Submission to the Homelessness Inquiry – Kainga Kore (without housing) a Western Bay of Plenty Perspective

The following submission has been prepared by the following organisations:

  • Tauranga Community Housing Trust (TCHT) –is a charitable Trust and a registered Community Housing Provider that has been operating for 12 years. TCHT provides housing and housing related services across the Western and Eastern Bay of Plenty. TCHT believes that appropriate affordable housing is fundamental to the wellbeing of individuals, families and the community.
  • Tauranga Moana Nightshelter (TMNT) – provides the homeless people in Tauranga Moana temporary shelter and access to services designed to break the cycle of homelessness and offer hope of a better future for themselves and our community.
  • Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services - is a charitable trust established to promote the wellbeing of individuals and their families by providing information and support, leading and enabling them to move towards greater social independence as well as the ability to achieve their maximum potential. The Trust is predominantly concerned with the provision of accessible and empowering support services for – whanau/families, at risk children, and youth.
  • SociaLink – has been established to work with, empower and represent the social sector in the Western Bay of Plenty. Over 400 organisations subscribe to our newsletter, attend workshops etc.

The submission addresses the terms of reference for the inquiry and represents the views of the above organisations as well as the views of a former client of the Nightshelter who had been homeless for over 20 years. Key points raised in the submission include:

  • The importance of having better data on the scale and nature of homelessness is emphasised to inform solutions. Anecdotal information regarding reported increasing homelessness in the western bay of plenty is outlined;
  • The immediate factors driving the rise in homelessness in the western bay of plenty appears to be increasing demand for homes to purchase and rent and subsequent rise in house prices and rents. Underlying these factors is social and economic policy failures, lack of housing supply and low incomes;
  • Local efforts are broad ranging and tackle different aspects of homelessness, nevertheless a stronger central government presence is required. In particular the conduct of a robust assessment of current and future housing needs to inform emergency, transitional and social housing supply and an improved coordinated response to address gaps in service provision. The ‘housing first’ approach to homelessness is supported.
  • It is recognised that no one is ‘immune’ from homelessness although those with less resources are more vulnerable. Everyone’s experience of homelessness is different. To ensure this inquiry hears from those who have experienced homelessness a former client of the night shelter kindly agreed to share his experiences and what he believes needs to be done to address homelessness. This is accompanied with the perspective of the shelter and their experience of working with ‘David’ (not his real name).

Consider whether the official definition of homelessness needs updating, and recommend accordingly.

Statistics New Zealand (2009) defineshomelessness as living situations where people with no other options to acquire safe and secure housing: are without shelter, in temporary accommodation, sharing accommodation with a household or living in uninhabitable housing.

Statistics New Zealand 2009 definition capturesmuch of the complexities of homelessness. It acknowledges movement between the different forms of living rough, temporary shelter, and depending on the generosity of others. Vital considerations for defining homelessness in NZ is the large proportion of “concealed homeless” living situations and the over representation of Maori; Overall we believe the definition recognises the different ‘types’ of homelessness so avoids the common misconception that it is just men ‘sleeping rough’ on the streets.

It is important to note that hand in hand with homelessness there are often an array of other issues (e.g. poverty, addictions, mental health issues, cultural alienation) experienced by people who are homeless which is not reflected in the definition. That is, for many people who are homeless it is not just an issue of lack of housing.

Assess the evidence on the current scale of homelessness, whether it is changing and how, and what the causes of that change might be.

Understanding the scale and nature of homelessness

As is evident from the Statistics New Zealand definition of Homelessness collecting robust data regarding the scale and nature of homelessness is challenging given the hidden nature of homelessness(e.g. sharing accommodation with others) etc. Nevertheless, it is crucial have a better understanding of homelessness[1] to inform solutions.

We concur with the Community Housing Aotearoa view that better methods of measuring the extent and nature of homelessness in New Zealand to enable more comprehensive responses to the issue is needed. The extent of homelessness in New Zealand has not been well-researched and there is a lack of data on what emergency, transitional or other housing needs to be developed.

The importance of having information about homelessness has also been recognised by a social entrepreneur, James Crow. James has established a ‘give a little’ page to fund the development of a phone application to enable people to gather information from people who are homeless, in effect undertaking a ’census’ of people who are homeless.

Changing landscape of homelessness in the Western Bay of Plenty

Without the robust research referred to above, information is only anecdotal. However there has been increased media coverage of homelessfamilies, women and children, young people and older people (e.g. living in cars) and services experiencing an overwhelming increase in people contacting them regarding housing e.g. Women’s Refuge, Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services, Tauranga Moana Nightshelter (TMNT). Examples given by the Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation[2] include a family with a 4-year-old in a car for six weeks and a pregnant woman with her pre-schooler in a van at Mount beach. Some have children at school. One is a 49-year-old full-time call-centre worker with two children at university. Similarly, Tauha Te Kani, Merivale Community Centre manager has advised overcrowding was becoming the norm with the centre's clients. "There are people living in garages. One that comes to mind was a home visit to a young mum with three young children under five, all living in a garage[3]. Merivale school principal estimates 10% of their pupils are homeless[4].

Based on Te Tuinga Whanau’s statistics it has been identified that an increasing amount of families find themselves without accommodation or whanau to support them[5]. At the time of writing the report which informed the establishment of the Whare 4 whanau initiative 14 whanau, or 44 adults and children, had been identified required housing. The majority are locals requiring housing for a variety of reasons including been given notice to move from their current whare, living in cars, living in a motel or living in inadequate or overcrowded housing conditions.

In relation to homeless men ‘living rough’ the Tauranga Moana Night Shelter have had 235 men through since opening in September 2014 and have housed around 50 men over that time with 20 homeless men in the shelter at any given time. Anecdotally, it is believed that there are around another 30 men currently on the streets. The Shelter has also observed a recent increase in referrals from men losing their jobs and subsequently their accommodation.

Alongside this is regular media reports of real estate agents experiencing a reduced supply of rental housing in Tauranga and the larger western bay of plenty (e.g. Te Puke) and not surprisingly reporting that rents are increasing as supply dries up. Similarly, real estate agents report in the media that internal migration, particularly from Auckland, are a significant proportion of those buying homes and driving prices up in the western bay of plenty.

The extent to which ‘housing stress’ is pervading communities is highlighted in research commissioned by SmartGrowth in 2016 (to be released) which, when asking a focus group of primary school children in Te Puke what they would like to see ‘improved’ in their community, identified their main concern was housing. It was noted by the Deputy Principal of the school that both families and staff were being impacted by a lack of suitable housing in Te Puke.

A recent report on sustainable housing in the Bay of Plenty notes an increase in homelessness in Tauranga, as well as overcrowding and transient tenancies which have been linked to the general undersupply and unaffordability of housing that is further exacerbated by the areas’ low median income[6].

An added pressure on housing in the western bay of plenty is the annual influx of kiwifruit workers between March to June although for many jobs in the kiwifruit industry the work is occurring over a longer time period e.g. pruning etc. Currently there are approximately 5200 seasonalkiwifruit workers withapproximately 70% of these workers coming from overseas or other parts of New Zealand and are likely to require accommodation. Kiwifruit production is expected to increase substantially over the next five years which is projected to require an additional 3900 seasonal staff by 2018-19.

Not surprisingly, this puts significant pressure on housing in Te Puke and surrounding areas, Papamoa and communities west of Tauranga e.g. Katikati and Te Puna. This often results in the displacement of people in temporary accommodation such as back packers and motor camps and rental housing in favour of kiwifruit workers. The report prepared by the Western Bay of Plenty District Councilregarding the accommodation needs of seasonal kiwifruit workers noted concerns ofkiwifruit workers living in inadequate housing and/or experiencing overcrowdingas a result of the shortage of suitable and affordable accommodation. The workers are also often paying well above market rates for often inadequate and/or overcrowded accommodation.

Drivers of homelessness

Right to housing and social and economy policy failures

At a broader societal level, housing has become more than a home, it is a sign of status, cultural norms, and represents the retirement funds for many New Zealanders. Housing is no longer just shelter, it is much more. The regular media reporting of increasing housing prices, of which there are many beneficiaries (i.e. those who own their own home and property investors), is the topic of many water cooler discussions; not the supply of safe, secure and affordable shelter for all[7].

Access to safe and secure housing is a human right. If there is political and community commitment to ensuring this right is preserved New Zealand would not be experiencing the result of serious social and economic policy failure over a number of years i.e. increasing homelessness. Examples of policy failures are wide ranging include the long term impact of deinstitutionalisation, changes in criteria of who is eligible for social housing, access to waiting lists, social housing stock numbers not keeping pace with a growing population, punitive approach toincome support, inadequate minimum wage, lack of adequate financial literacy education etc.

Another example of the policy failure mentioned above is an apparent absence ofa robust assessment of current and futurehousing needs to inform government policy. This has resulted in the housing stock not keeping pace with the growing population. A housing needs assessmentwould also have identified the trends of decreasing home ownership and an increasing ageing population which presumably would have signalled the need for increasing state housing stock.

Lack of housing supply

The other critical driver of homelessness is a lack of supply of housing, particularly for households on lower incomes. A sustained slow supply of houses impacts on both house prices and rents. When housing supply is slow, the impact is greatest on the poorest and most vulnerable in society. What supply there is tends to favour the well-off who can afford to purchase larger and higher value homes.

Related to housing supply issues is the significant misalignment of the existing housing stock to the demographics of the population. For example, in the western bay of plenty 90% of the housing stock is three or more bedrooms yet over half the population are 1-2 person households[8]. Smaller dwellings, in addition to better meeting the needs of smaller households would also contribute to reduced housing costs. Yet the vast majority of housing stock built over the last 10 years have three or more bedrooms and are generally in higher price categories in order for developers and end buyers to maximise the capital value of the land.

As rates of home ownership decreases private market rentals become an increasingly important segment of the housing market. Significant drawbacks of private market rental accommodation is lack of security of tenure, sometimes inadequate housing (e.g. lack adequate insulation and heating) and most recently increasing rents. These issues must be addressed if private market rental accommodation is going to meet the needs of the growing number of people requiring such accommodation.

At a more local level, due to the upcoming sale of state houses in Tauranga any planned housing redevelopment has been put on hold which in effect is likely to delay any increase in ‘houses on the ground’ by up to three years.

Urbanisation of Maori

A key driver of homelessness amongst Maori was the rapid emptying of rural tribal homelands through the flood of Māori to towns and cities started in the 1930’s[9]. In 1936, about 13% of the Māori population lived in urban areas. In 1951 the percentage rose to 23%. By 1981, 80% of Māori were living in urban regions[10]. At the last national census, 84.4% of Māori lived in urban areas such as Tauranga[11]. Along with the socio-economic marginalization brought upon Maori by continued colonization, such migrations have contributed to the over-representation of Maori among homeless populations in urban centers such as Tauranga.

Such rapid urbanisation has resulted in many Maori becoming disconnected from their hapu, iwi and marae.

Low incomes

A third key driver of homelessness in the western bay of plenty is the lower than national median income. Whilst personal median income is a crude measure it does reflect geographic and ethnic differences in income. For example, in the western bay of plenty the personal median income is $26,700 ($22,500 for Maori) in comparison to the national median household income of $28,500 (2013 census). This exacerbates access to affordable rentals or homes to buy particularly as house prices are rapidly rising which subsequently puts pressure on social housing and resultant homelessness.

Evaluate possible policy responses to homelessness, including international best practice, and recommend accordingly.

As a result of the drivers above a ‘perfect storm’ has occurred in the western bay of plenty which has resulted in an apparent rapid and significant increase in homelessness and most if not all services at or over capacity (e.g. Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services are funded to provide 250 interventions per year however they have provided close to 2000 interventions).

The ‘housing continuum’ outlined below is a useful tool to identify housing segments and provides a way to understand the state of each segment, how they are performing, or failing to perform, and how they affect other parts of the continuum[12]. Where one part of the continuum ceases to function there is a flow on effect to other parts of the continuum. In the case of the western bay of plenty increased demand for market rental housing and home ownership has resulted in increasing pressure on emergency, transitional and social housing.

Local efforts to date

Local agencies and communities have been working together for some time to address a wide range of housing issues and more recently have gone into over drive to try and meet the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness. Examples of the work that is occurring locally are:

  • The Tauranga Moana Maori Trust Board have gifted two buildings rent-free for a year to Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services to launch stage one of its Whare 4 Whanau Project, called Whare Tauranga - A Place to Call Home, which would accommodate three families at a time(for a period of three months).
  • Marae, hauora, a rugby club and communities have opened their doors to provide food, ablutions and support e.g. Huria marae, Waipu hauora and the Matapihi community, Merivale Community centre and the Merivale community, Rangataua ruby club.
  • Local community groups providing meals.
  • The Healthy Whare project established in 2013 has improved housing quality in over 100 homes in Maketu. It is a collaborative project involving Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOPDC), Te Runanga o Nati Whakaue ki Maketu, Te Puni Kokiri, Bay of Plenty District Health Board (BOPDHB), Toi Te Ora – Public Health Services, Tauranga Community Housing Trust and Sustainability Options.
  • Initiated through SmartGrowth was the establishment of the Maori Housing Forum to build the capacity of iwi and hapu in the western bay of plenty to build papakainga resulting in over 50 kainga being built.
  • Tauranga City Council has convened interested parties to establish a steering group to address homelessness issues. A key focus of the working group is to undertake research to better understand the scale and nature of the issue including their fluctuating accommodation situations and the factors that have contributed to them becoming homeless. The research will also be looking at the pathways and barriers that result in people becoming homeless. From this data the steering group hope to recommend and prioritise actions to prevent further homeless and to make necessary service developments to find secure accommodation for those who are currently homeless.
  • WBOPDC have recently undertaken research on seasonal accommodation needs in the western bay of Plenty district with a focus on the kiwifruit industry. The aim of the research is to inform the development of a collaborative response from the kiwifruit industry, community organisations, housing providers and WBOPDC.
  • CARE4KIDS Fund initiated by the Chief Operation officer of the BOPDHB is run by an independent Tauranga Hospital Charitable Trust fund with proceeds of donations used to stock a resource room for homeless families or children in need, that the hospital staff come across under its care.
  • In 2009 SmartGrowth established a Housing Affordability Forum to focus on raising awareness and increasing the provision of affordable housing. The Forum is currently facilitating the establishment of an affordable housing pilot project to show case to the community, builders and developers good design and ways in which affordable housing can be constructed.

Central government and societal response