The housing crisis has created a domino effect that is especially hard on those who are most vulnerable, and now they face more difficulty accessing support services, an advocate says. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Luke McPake
There has been a 40 percent increase in homelessness in Wellington, according to a charity that works with rough sleepers.
Downtown Community Ministry said 464 homeless or rough sleepers came to them for help in September.
That number had risen significantly from last September, when 330 asked for help.
40% increase in homelessness in Wellington - charity
In the past month their staff had also seen three people who were turned down for emergency housing since the government introduced tougher eligibility and stand down rules, in August.
Stephen Turnock, the Director of the Downtown Community Ministry in Wellington told Checkpoint the problem had continued to grow.
"It's certainly stretching our organisation in terms of capability, but also getting harder and harder to find sustainable solutions," Turnock said.
Wellington Downtown Ministry's Manahautū - Director, Stephen Turnock Photo: Supplied/ Downtown Community Mission - John Tavoi
Staff were stretched, but doing their best to try to get support, and access to resources and housing for people who are turning up on their doorstep, seeking assistance.
"They're often in crisis, often in the midst of some form of mental health or addiction problem, and our staff are at full capacity in terms of supporting them."
New Zealand had been in the midst of a housing crisis for decades, he said.
"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."
He said the increase in living costs and challenges around housing affordability were also contributing to the rise in homelessness, and the situation appeared to be getting worse.
"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," he said.
"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."
The latest statistics released showed that within New Zealand, there were about 102,000 people experiencing homelessness.
"This can be in temporary accommodations such as transitional housing, emergency housing, sleeping on a friend's couch," he said.
"But then we've got around about 30,000 plus people who are rough sleeping, these are the people who are sleeping in doorways, under bridges.
"They're living in unsafe, very precarious situations: unhealthy, and creating quite significant poor outcomes for all of us."
The charity had found emergency housing was now harder for people to access, he said.
"I guess it's our opinion that 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," he said.
That meant also ensuring access to mental health services, addiction services and support networks.
"They all need to be taken in consideration, not just access to an inappropriate shelter such as a motel."
He said alternative pathways and solutions should be created, to provide long-term, safe, affordable housing for everybody - especially those people most at risk and experiencing homelessness.
"As long as we still experience unaffordable housing, a housing crisis - I actually agree with the government that emergency housing is not something that we should need or should rely on - but to remove that safety net while we don't have sufficient places to house people with the right support networks in place, I think we're setting ourselves up to create more of a problem than a solution."
Currently, throughout the country there were services to help the issue short term, he said.
"As a country we have adopted what they call the housing first approach, where the principles are everyone deserves to get access to housing without preconditions, and then they get intensive support services wrapped around them.
"Ourselves, we've housed well over 270 people who were homeless.
"There are solutions. But what we need is government support and the development of houses and an increase of housing access."