Aaron Hendry: Oranga Tamariki kids in motels are not ‘a necessary evil’

Some young people in Oranga Tamariki care have spent more than 200 nights living in motels as the 'best option' for them with no suitable alternatives. Photo / Richard Robinson, File

A recent report (NZ Herald, January 26) highlighted children and young people in Oranga Tamariki care are being placed in motels due to a lack of suitable and safe housing for rangatahi.

It was reported that one young person, in particular, has been living in a motel for about two years.

We have been told consistently that motels are a better alternative than living on the street; that we have no other choice; and it is the best option out of some terrible choices.

But, it’s not the case.

Having kids in motels is not a necessary evil. It is a decision we’ve had to make as a result of a lack of investment and innovation in real solutions.

It also highlights our failure to adequately address and close the pipelines that feed into youth Homelessness. The care system is a key one.

There are currently 5200 young people eligible for Transition Support Services, but there are only around 134 supported accommodation placements available for those young people. As a result, one in 10 young people are said to be living in “unstable accommodation” such as a car, garage, on the street, or in a hotel.

This is not an accident, it is a failure in planning.

Youth advocate and researcher Brook Turner recently released research detailing the lack of housing options for rangatahi exiting care. He highlights that a significant lack of housing options lead to a situation where young people exiting care are at increased risk of homelessness.

We know, through our collective experience within the sector, there are a significant amount of young people leaving care who end up homeless and in emergency motels. Yet, as Turner points out, the state, with a duty of care for our rangatahi, does not record data on this.

Essentially, the state does not know where our young people are.

Think about that for a second. The state is essentially the guardian for these rangatahi and yet cannot say with confidence today where those rangatahi are.

This reflects a critical failure in the obligation to take responsibility for the children it has brought into its care.

Without good data, we are starved for insight, which in turn affects our ability to improve policy, legislation, resourcing, and outcomes for our young people.

The care system is currently acting as a pipeline into homelessness for rangatahi.

Having good data is essential for understanding the needs of our young people and ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are recognised.

It is essential we correct this. We have young people today who are experiencing homelessness due to our collective failure to strategically plan for the provision of their needs.

We know from our young people that this lack of safe and supportive housing is a huge factor in the deterioration of mental health, feelings of hopelessness, acquiring addictions, and can be a driving factor in some young people’s involvement in crime.

This is a human rights crisis. The good news is that we can solve it.

Manaaki Rangatahi, a collective of organisations advocating and organising to #EndYouthHomelessness since 2018, has been calling on the Government to enact bold and innovative change to ensure no young person experiences homelessness within Aotearoa.

One of the key actions the Government could take today is to enact legislation that would prevent Government agencies from exiting a young person into homelessness, creating accountability and ensuring that appropriate ministries are thinking ahead and planning for our young people’s needs.

Alongside this, we need all relevant Government agencies to be recording data on young people’s housing experiences, and the creation of an independent watchdog to keep such agencies accountable for upholding this basic human right for our young people.

Aaron Hendry. Photo / Jessie Chiang, RNZ

Aotearoa also does not have a strategy to end youth homelessness. This is despite the disproportionate overrepresentation of young people within the homeless community (about 50 per cent).

It is imperative we examine the pipelines and drivers of youth homelessness (of which the care system is a major one) and ensure we have a solid strategy in place to prevent and thus end it.

We need innovative solutions that provide care and safety for young people in critical need of housing.

There exist already a range of community organisations working on creative responses to respond to this need. The Government needs to back them.

Let’s get more investment into the youth housing sector, empowering our communities to do what they do best: Hold and heal their own.

We can end youth homelessness. But, it will require courage, innovation, and a dogged willingness from all of us to do what needs to be done.

- Aaron Hendry is a youth worker, a rangatahi advocate, and a commentator on social justice issues.