From domestic violence to drug addictions, these are some factors that caused homelessness. Photo / Getty Images
From domestic violence to drug addictions, these are some factors that caused homelessness. Photo / Getty Images
Domestic violence, drug addictions, death of loved ones, and caring for disabled children.
These are but a handful of factors that have contributed to homelessness in the Rotorua community, a report has found.
One woman spoke of losing custody of her three children, domestic violence, and the death of apartner to drugs.
Keith Newton's journey from family man to homeless started after a car accident resulted in his then-partner becoming a tetraplegic; igniting a path of addiction, the breakdown of a relationship, his father's death and a stint in prison.
"It was a really lonely place, one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy ... I never thought I'd be homeless," he said.
"There's a lot about my past that I never thought would happen, but it did. So people need to be prepared, to be educated in the broader sense of things."
Associate Minister of Housing (homelessness) Marama Davidson. Photo / Mark Mitchell
In 2019, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development engaged Tīaho Limited to develop narratives into homelessness derived from living experience.
Two reports were created, one for Rotorua and one for Christchurch, of which the learnings would assist Housing First providers in the work they do, Associate Minister of Housing (homelessness) Marama Davidson said.
"These two pūrākau reports provide powerful and insightful narratives from whānau who have experienced homelessness," she said.
"The pūrākau of people engaged with Housing First has reinforced the value of taking a place-based approach with housing providers, iwi, local and national government working together to support whānau in their area.
"As the preface says 'Mā te rongo, ka mōhio, Mā te mōhio, ka mārama, Mā te mārama, ka mātau, Mā te mātau, ka ora; from listening comes knowledge, from knowledge comes understanding, from understanding comes wisdom, and from wisdom comes wellbeing'."
Newton and others poke to Tīaho Limited after receiving support from Mangatakitahi - Housing First Rotorua.
The service provides Rotorua's homeless community access to a range of supports and referrals to other services.
Following their engagement with Mangatakitahi, four of the five mānaha were now in their own homes. The fifth was in emergency housing.
The Mangatakitahi report was one of two, another was created for Christchurch, and identified a number of challenges it was facing, including:
• Further work was needed to continue to evolve the understanding and practice of Mangatakitahi as an iwi-led kaupapa-based provider of the Housing First programme;
• The relationship between Work and Income, the Ministry of Social Development process around the social housing register and limited access to mental health and addiction services.
The report also found the alignment between the Housing First principles and kaupapa Māori to house and support mānaha was successful.
Another key success was the manaaki-based hub and the expertise fed into it by the lived experience advisory group.
Meanwhile, more than $5.6 million was been spent on emergency housing and special needs grants in Rotorua during the first three months of this year - a jump of nearly $1 million compared with the previous three months.
In March, the Government announced $4 million would go towards preventing and reducing homelessness in Rotorua.
"The fund allows the government to partner with local providers or organisations who are doing innovative mahi to reduce homelessness in their area," Davidson said at the time.
"The initiatives funded in this first round have a strong focus on Māori, rangatahi and the rainbow community."
