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FAMILIES in Gisborne are more likely to be composed of solo parents with dependent children and include Maori members than anywhere else in New Zealand, a new report has found.
People in Gisborne are also more likely to support extended family and have greater community engagement including volunteering.
These findings come from the Families and Whanau Status Report, an annual update on family wellbeing by the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (Superu, formerly the Families Commission) based on survey data spanning 2008 to 2014.
It found just over one in five Gisborne families (21.7 percent) include a single parent, with at least one child under 18.
The regions with the next highest statistic are Northland and Hawke’s Bay, with 16.3 percent, while the national average is 13 percent.
More than half (53 percent) of families in Gisborne have a family member that identifies as Maori, compared to the national average of 18.4 percent.
Northland and Bay of Plenty had the next highest percentages with 36 percent and 31 percent respectively.
In Gisborne a further 69 percent of families identified with European, 5 percent with Pacific and 3.3 percent with Asia (families could identify with more than one nationality).
Vasantha Krishnan, director of research at Superu, said the report found outcomes for single-parent families with younger children, especially Maori families, included lower levels of post-secondary education, poorer health, more financial difficulties and lower employment levels.
Those groups also face greater financial and psychological stresses. On a more positive note, the Gisborne region displayed a higher level of support for extended families and greater engagement in the community.
“It is a real strength in Gisborne,” Ms Krishnan said.
More volunteers in GisborneHead of the Ministry of Social Development Social Sector Trials in Gisborne, Leslynne Jackson, said while the report noted nationally there were fewer single-parent Maori families with dependent children in work than other groups, more were engaged in volunteering and supporting extended family.
“While they might not be in paid employment, more than half are contributing to the community through voluntary work.”
She praised the report for looking at family wellbeing holistically and from a Maori perspective.
“Being a single parent does not necessarily mean poor outcomes. You can’t take one indicator and draw conclusions.”
Jess Jacobs, who is involved in many community groups in Gisborne and has a background in social policy research, said there are many factors that affect the wellbeing of single-parent families.
These include the financial pressures of living on one income, poor housing affecting health, lack of support to gain relevant skills and qualifications, and lack of safety.
These all add to stress, fatigue, poor health and managing a family on your own. Ms Jacobs can relate to this as a single mum of one child under 18.
“I have been paying 70 percent of my income in rent, had damp mouldy houses and have since developed asthma, which I have never had in my life.”
As a student, Ms Jacobs faces further financial pressure with recent changes in funding.
“Study link recently cut my student allowance due to reaching my 200-week limit only a couple papers short of finishing a degree. My only option was to add to my student loan to finish.
“Do they want to actually assist single parents into work and better outcomes? The assistance is pretty much non-existent now.”
Assistance for training and educationShe believes there should be more assistance with training and education, better and more affordable housing options with income-related rents, and policies addressed from the perspective of the people concerned, not an ethnocentric “help the poor single parents attitude”.
“Single parents have the strength, autonomy and capabilities to harness their own empowerment, with practical support and better policies that assist in making things ‘easier’ for those single parents on a low income to get ahead.”
She said there is a real gap in social services and poverty alleviation. At the end of June, 97 people or households were waiting for placement via the Gisborne Social Housing Register, a 17 percent increase on the 83 people or households wanting to be homed in the previous quarter, and 47 percent up on the 66 recorded on the register at the end of June, 2015.
“If more money and time was ploughed into a regional collaborative social institution to address these common issues, and assist in guiding individuals in their lives and with basic needs, then this would pay off in the long run.”
Superu chief executive Clare Ward said the report shows policies are needed to strengthen the wellbeing of young families and families from diverse cultural backgrounds.
“Non-western cultures tend to focus more on the wants and needs of the group, and relationships and obligations between family members," she said.
“Policies should focus on economic security and housing. For young single-parent families in particular, on psychological health. For young Maori and Pacific families, on education, knowledge and skills. For young Asian two-parent families, on fostering a sense of social inclusion.”