After six months living in a Government-run emergency housing motel, solo mum Renee Hanna is frustrated.
She's grateful for somewhere for her and her three children to live. But she also "hates everything about" life in the motel and the strict rules imposed on hundreds of people like her in Rotorua.
"Even prisoners have visitors. Family get angry because they can't see us."
She said life felt like being a "rat on a running wheel, going nowhere fast" and heard "continued digs and insults" from people about those in her situation.
The Government defended the rules in place to keep people safe in the motels. While motels were not ideal, they were better than sleeping rough, one agency said.
In the three months to September, taxpayers spent more than $4.5 million on 2268 emergency housing and special needs grants in Rotorua, according to public housing figures.
Last May, the Government made sweeping changes to the way its emergency motels were run in Rotorua amid fears of violence, intimidation and children growing up next to gang members.
Rotorua-based Labout list MP Tāmati Coffey says the changes are making a difference and while there's more work to do, the community is coming together to create solutions.
Others in the Rotorua community, however, say that from a neighbourhood perspective, there is still a lot of work to do.
Hanna is staying in one of the 13 motels the Government directly contracted as part of the changes.
The motels have cohorts such as women and children grouped together, security, wrap-around services and no mixing of residents and tourists.
There are another 30 to 35 motels being used for emergency housing that are not directly contracted.
On Fenton St - motel mile - a one-stop-shop for housing matters - Te Pokapu The Hub - has opened.
Hanna said life for her and her children, aged 7 to 14, in the contracted motels was especially tough because they had strict rules for residents.
She said everyone had to be home by 10pm and people could not have visitors.
Her children were not allowed friends to stay and she had barely seen her adult daughter because of Covid-19 restrictions - but she wouldn't be allowed inside, anyway.
Hanna said her children had adjusted okay but it upset her she could not give them a home like they once had. They had rented in Glenholme since 1988, she said.
Her younger children got on well and played together, but there was nowhere for them to play at the motel. There was one washing machine for 20 units, she said.
"We aren't allowed to socialise with other people and we aren't allowed in anyone's rooms for a cup of tea or anything."
She said she had not seen any of the wrap-around services and had sought out her own counselling.
"I've had no help. No offer of help for the kids, for myself, which they promised us when we came for help."
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development partnership and performance acting general manager Will Barris said it wasn't easy staying in a motel, particularly for those with children.
"Our providers do their best to make sure people are safe and supported while balancing the needs of all people staying in a complex.
"There are rules at our contracted emergency housing facilities intended to keep all residents safe and ensure they're well managed for everyone, and there are additional restrictions now due to the Omicron outbreak."
He said when motels had Covid cases, the providers and motel managers work with public health officials to work out appropriate requirements.
Rules varied across different facilities but were designed to ensure residents could live safely and comfortably. They were generally around issues such as visitors, alcohol consumption and noise at night.
He encouraged anyone who wanted whānau members to visit to talk to their support service provider about what arrangements could be made.
He said clients should also talk to their provider about support such as counselling.
"Motels aren't ideal, but they are better than having people sleep rough. The Government needs to find warm, dry, safe places for people to stay tonight – an urgent need – while working with many stakeholders to increase the supply of affordable housing at pace."
Glenholme Neighbourhood Support street contact Tammy-Lee Holmes said residents hadn't noticed any positive change around the motels used for emergency housing.
"There is still a lot of graffiti, rubbish and an increase in unkempt motel sites in terms of general maintenance, lawns and gardens."
More people were joining the local neighbourhood support group.
"People have been continuing to report antisocial behaviour, gang representation and crime. This has not decreased, in the view of the residents."
She said there had also been requests from people asking for local community support to get out of emergency housing as the environment had been described as hostile and negative.
Jenny Peace, who started a petition last year calling for the Rotorua Lakes Council to be more transparent with the resource consent processes for emergency housing motels, described the situation as "still a shambles".
As a Glenholme resident, she said crime and safety were the main concerns.
"There's still daily reports of riff-raff up driveways, car chases, people hanging around up your driveways, so the short answer is no.
"There's been no improvement for us at all. We are all still driving around with our cars locked hoping no one climbs into them at intersections, there's still upturned trolleys, police sirens every other day and police cars in bulk parked outside motels."
Urbano Bistro Cafe and Restaurant owner Richard Sewell described the situation as worse than it was this time last year.
He said while they were still supported by the couple of motels left on Fenton St not emergency housing, most of their clientele from the street was gone.
He said it could be argued the area had quietened down slightly in terms of anti-social behaviour, it was still a long way off what it once was.
"I don't see Fenton St becoming any better for an awful long time."
Waiariki Women's Refuge operations manager Martina Wineera said there had been some improvements in support for women and children, but the help offered could be "smoother and faster".
She said there was still domestic violence in motels. The refuge preferred to use its safe houses rather than put women and children in emergency housing.
"We don't want them going from one bad situation to another."
Trevor Newbrook, chairman of Restore Rotorua - a group set up because of concern about emergency housing - said Government system changes made little difference to the city's image or availability of accommodation for visitors.
"For locals, nothing has changed. It's certainly not got any better, that's for sure."
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said although the contracted motels were operating, in his view, very little had changed for locals dealing with the issues of having high-needs people grouped together.
He had met with concerned groups in the area about gang brawls - one of which forced a local community organisation to go into "lockdown" four times for the safety of its clients.
Labour's Tāmati Coffey said the changes made last year ensured women and children in emergency housing were safe and looked after with wrap-around support by respected local social service agencies.
"My engagement with those agencies is positive about the difference this has made and I thank them for their work.
"Safe communities are what we all want, whether we live in Glenholme, Owhata or Fordlands, and our police do their best to maintain the peace across Rotorua.
"We still have more work to do, but together our community is coming together with Government to work through proactive solutions and I welcome any from Mr McClay."
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development housing and services delivery general manager Jonathon Fraser said when emergency housing was introduced in 2016, it was intended as a last resort for up to seven nights but things had changed significantly.
Under the current emergency housing model, the Ministry of Social Development assesses the needs of the client but doesn't have control over their placement, as opposed to the contracted motels.
Contracted motels allowed quality standards to be enforced and for modifications to be made, such as putting in kitchens and securing stairways with safety gates, Fraser said.
There was also wrap-around support services including relational support, social worker support, ready-to-rent programmes, budgeting training, numeracy and literacy training, and after-school and holiday programmes for children.
Asked about the non-contracted motels, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Mike Bryant said the ministry would continue to support people experiencing homelessness and emergency housing was a last resort.
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