Bay of Plenty Times

‘Misery money’

Ma¯ori providers call for crackdown on social housing ‘cowboys' in it for the cash

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Iwi around the country are stamping their mark on the business world and providing employment opportunit­ies, health, education, social services and cultural connection­s. Carmen Hall spent a week with Nga¯i Te Rangi and got a rare insight into the iwi’s operations. This is part five in the series.

Some emergency housing providers in New Zealand are “cowboys” in it only for the money, an iwi leader claims.

And a social service leader describes government funding in the sector as “misery money” and wants making emergency But a ministries lens “lucrative” and put the transition­al homeless. on that organisati­ons earnings hold housing the accommodat­ing are held portfolios and contract say regular providers reviews are there to support residents.

Housing homeless people is big business. The Government has spent more than $1.2 billion on emergency housing grants alone since 2017. In Rotorua, the spend in the quarter to March was $5.4 million, and $4m in Tauranga.

The Ministry for Social Developmen­t (MSD), which oversees emergency housing, supports 1200 people through 65 “navigators” nationally with tamariki with (children). a focus on Requests wha¯nau for regional data, including funding, required an Official Informatio­n Act request. Transition­al housing costs are on top of that — more than $253.9m nationally in 2020-21. As of April, there were 5239 transition­al housing places supported by 64 providers contracted by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Developmen­t (MHUD). It contracts 12 providers in the Bay of Plenty, including Te Ru¯nanga o Nga¯i Te Rangi Iwi Trust. Nga¯ i Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend the funding within the social sector was highly sought-after and, in his view, there were a lot of “excellent storytelle­rs” nationally, spinning good tales to get the money.

He questioned whether there was a level playing field between Ma¯ori and non-ma¯ori organisati­ons and their commitment to helping Ma¯ori.

He believed some providers were clipping the ticket but failing to provide the promised services. In Stanley’s opinion, the Government’s idea of how providers should operate did not favour iwi.

“It’s much easier for them to deal with Pa¯keha¯ agencies who say they cover us but we cover triballing and it’s quite different.

“You have bottom feeders who feed off the plight of Ma¯ori and then you end up with these scraps because there isn’t enough money to go around.”

In July, Nga¯i Te Rangi pumped $2m — matching a Government funding contributi­on — into a Tauranga apartment block with transition­al housing for up to 33 people.

It offered services including social workers, employment brokers and counsellor­s, an onsite security manager and reconnecti­on with their tribe and culture.

The iwi also looked after some homeless in motels.

The collective nature of what it did was often overlooked, Stanley said, and he believed the sector needed a shake-up.

“Some organisati­ons make the government department­s and the ministers feel warm and cuddly but when you break down the services they provide you soon find out who the good ones are.”

“The crap ones are . . . cowboys who are chasing the money.”

Stanley said the Government’s $1.2b in Budget 2022 for Ma¯ori health, education and employment was overdue.

“When the programmes are run by us [Ma¯ori] we have significan­t knowledge to make them successful.”

Tauranga’s Te Tuinga Wha¯nau

Support Services executive director Tommy Wilson said he believed a lens needed to be put on all providers of emergency and transition­al properties in New Zealand.

He agreed there were some cowboys in the sector nationally and said some operators needed to take a hard look at their tikanga (practices).

“Why are they doing it? At the moment it is a sexy subject and the microscope needs to be put on them.”

Te Tuinga Wha¯nau was founded 37 years ago and rents motel rooms and homes for transition­al housing.

“We stand by every one of our houses and we are not there to just give people a food parcel and send them on their way . . . that is our point of difference.

“Other organisati­ons are making lucrative amounts of money out of what we call misery. “It’s misery money.” A Salvation Army spokespers­on said it frequently visited wha¯nau and reported monthly on people in its care.

In Tauranga, it managed 30 stand-alone one- to four-bedroom properties.

More than three-quarters of its Bay of Plenty clients between April and mid-june transition­ed into long-term housing — mainly state homes.

Restore Rotorua campaigns against the Government’s use of motels in the tourism town as social housing.

Chairman Trevor Newbrook said he wanted to know what the wraparound serviced talked of meant.

He also wanted to know who monitored the more than 40 Rotorua motels used this way.

A spokesman from the Te Taumata o Nga¯ti Whakaue Ihoake Trust said the turmoil of the past two years had not changed underlying housing challenges.

“We are talking about families, young tamariki, grandparen­ts and mokopuna who are homeless due to many factors, many of which are beyond their control.

“No one thinks living in motels is a desirable long-term solution for homelessne­ss, however, it is better than the alternativ­e: living in garages and cars, or sleeping rough.”

He said community-led housing hub Te Pokapu¯ was set up in response to the crisis in Rotorua to help improve emergency housing results for people in motels and the community.

Prominent Rotorua social housing service provider Visions of a Helping Hand declined to comment for this story.

Rotorua deputy mayor Dave Donaldson said the council wanted the motels to be well run, with support services available.

“We know those motels formally contracted to MHUD are well managed and have support in place but like the community, are concerned about many of the uncontract­ed places.”

MHUD acting general manager of partnershi­ps and performanc­e Will Barris said all of the ministry’s transition­al housing providers had Te Ka¯hui Ka¯hu social service provider accreditat­ion, which was formally reviewed every two years.

Providers were responsibl­e for tenancy management services and making sure properties were warm, safe, dry and well maintained.

“These providers also support the people living there, helping them access services like MSD, budgeting advice and health services . . . [and] to support them in securing permanent housing.”

Rotorua’s Te Pokapu¯ hub was an example of a kaupapa Ma¯ori approach to assessing needs and was staffed by iwi, MSD and local health workers.

“Wha¯nau are linked with appropriat­e support and supported into available accommodat­ion that is most suitable for wha¯nau needs. Te Hau Ki Te Ka¯inga — the collective group of support service providers, provide onsite support at each of the Rotorua contracted emergency housing motels.”

Services included relational support to help wha¯nau settle, numeracy and literacy training and health assessment­s by an onsite team.

MSD Bay of Plenty regional commission­er Mike Bryant said when it contracted services from a provider, it must report back to the ministry on the outcomes delivered.

“If outcomes do not meet our expectatio­ns, we expect improvemen­t.”

Bryant said the ministry knew people in emergency accommodat­ion could have complex needs and each was assigned a case manager.

“Support is specific to the individual or wha¯nau, and aims to address the issues underlying homelessne­ss by connecting people with things like budgeting advice, addiction programmes, and pre-employment preparatio­n.”

In Rotorua, it was funding onsite support services from two providers for 245 people in emergency housing, as part of the Rotorua Taskforce.

In the rest of the Bay of Plenty, it had contracted 24 “navigators” to provide support services, from eight provider organisati­ons, Bryant said.

Navigators visit people in emergency housing and help them overcome barriers.

 ?? PHOTO / MEAD NORTON ?? Nga¯i Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley.
PHOTO / MEAD NORTON Nga¯i Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley.
 ?? PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES ?? Calls are rising for agencies who look after the homeless to be more accountabl­e.
PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES Calls are rising for agencies who look after the homeless to be more accountabl­e.
 ?? PHOTO / TALIA PARKER ?? Te Tuinga Whanau executive director Tommy Wilson.
PHOTO / TALIA PARKER Te Tuinga Whanau executive director Tommy Wilson.

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