"I'm pleased we went ahead because there was some really great discussion and experiences shared."
The meeting at Community House in Ridgway St was a follow-up to a meeting held on July 19 to include those who weren't able to attend during the day.
The gathering included representatives from a range of groups offering social and housing support including Mana Man, The Kai Hub, Koha Shed, Whanganui Restorative Practices Trust, iwi, church and marae-based services.
There were also representatives from the Whanganui District Council, police, Māori Wardens, and a number of individuals offering help or wishing to know how they could assist.
TK Kernel, of Mana Man, and Ben Schmidt, of Manawatū Tenants' Union, travelled from Palmerston North to attend the meeting and Kernel spoke about his initiative of building dwellings from salvaged materials (including hoardings from last year's elections) on 8ha of leased land.
The dwellings were initially constructed without consents in response to immediate need but Kernel said they had now passed official inspection and some young people gained construction skills along the way.
Joe Thompson and Julie Crocker, of the Kai Ora Kai Collective, spoke about their food redistribution initiative in Whanganui.
Thompson talked about the housing and social problems caused by a prevailing attitude that had seen houses become commodities to be bought and sold for profit rather than affordable homes for people to live in.
There were suggestions for setting up crowdfunding and ideas for freeing up land and empty buildings with bathroom facilities in the city and "cutting red tape" to create facilities for the homeless.
The meeting was facilitated by Whanganui District Council's community wellbeing manager Lauren Tamehana who said a list of those who had attended both meetings and the services they provided would be compiled and distributed as a starting point for collaborative efforts to assist those without secure housing.
Councillor Kate Joblin, who initiated Whanganui District Council's housing strategy in 2019, said she was at the meeting to listen and learn.
"This helps to inform the council on how we can best support the community," Joblin said.
The council had allocated a budget of $4.2m in its long-term plan for housing and Joblin said it was vitally important to consult the community on how to best allocate the fund.
Whanganui People's Centre manager Sharon Semple said good collaboration is key in addressing the needs of homeless people.
Photo / Ethan Griffiths
Whanganui People's Centre manager Sharon Semple attended the first meeting but was unable to attend the meeting on Tuesday night.
She has been at the forefront of assisting the city's homeless for around two and a half years.
"Homelessness is not new in Whanganui but it is a worsening situation that's become impossible for anyone to ignore now," Semple said.
While she was pleased there was more awareness and willingness to address it, Semple said there needed to be a good understanding of the complexities of the problems people were facing.
"We have found housing for 387 people in the last year and we are currently working with 40 people who are homeless and they all have complex needs."
While the previous role of The People's Centre had been to support beneficiaries, housing and homelessness have increasingly become the main focus of the work.
Semple's work has included going out to visit Whanganui's homeless at night, providing essentials and building trust and understanding.
"Not everyone welcomes our help initially but we keep approaching them anyway," she said.
"Sometimes it is pride that prevents people from accepting help and some people put up barriers because they don't want obligations."
There have been many good outcomes but Whanganui's population growth and busy housing market have seen more and more people unable to find secure and affordable housing.
Having well-established relationships with Ministry of Social Development (MSD) staff means that Semple and her co-worker Nicola Howe can quickly facilitate support for their clients.
"I really can't praise MSD staff enough for their willingness to work with us to support clients. As our work has become more and more about assistance for homelessness, their support has grown with it," Semple said.
Multi-agency referrals are often necessary for problems such as debt, addiction, mental health, domestic abuse, previous tenancy disputes and unaffordable rents.
"People need secure housing before they can begin to address other problems but it's really important to have those wraparound supports in place," Semple said.
"There are also degrees of homelessness which require a range of housing solutions."
Semple said a collaborative approach and a willing community would have positive effects for Whanganui's homeless but it was important to remain focused on the needs of the individuals and working towards solutions rather than taking a militant approach on behalf of the homeless.
Loader said the meetings at Community House had confirmed what she already knew - that the Whanganui community was ready to help and the next stage would be to plan the way forward and collaborate.
