Sallies scaling back on shelter

The Salvation Army is cutting down on the amount of accommodation it provides in Palmerston North.

That could see the closure of at least one of its three hostels in the city that provide housing for up to 17 people, mostly men

A resident at the Milson house tipped to close, who did not want to be named, said staff and clients were ‘‘hurting really bad’’.

‘‘They have closed us down. We’ve got five weeks to find homes or we have nowhere. They say the place is not up to standard.’’

The Milson house has attracted concerns from neighbours in the past, with the Milson Community Group also asking for tighter controls on the setting up of ‘‘community houses’’ in the District Plan.

Lieutenant Colonel Lynette Hutson, Salvation Army national manager of addiction and supported accommodation services, confirmed that staff, residents and other social service agencies were being consulted about the ‘‘realignment of services’’.

The Salvation Army has two houses in Milson and one in Cloverlea, all owned by Housing New Zealand, where it provided hostel accommodation for people coming out of prison, drug and alcohol addiction and detoxification programmes.

It would continue to provide services for those people, but not necessarily somewhere to stay for all of them.

Hutson said part of the reason for change was that money available to provide supported accommodation was ‘‘woefully inadequate’’. But the main purposes for the service review were to improve health and safety and the quality of clinical care.

One of the houses in particular, that had started as a threebedroom home and had been added on to, was ‘‘not ideal’’.

Staff were being consulted about the changes, and some of them would be found other roles within the services, she said.

However, up to five staff could lose jobs.

Hutson said residents had been told about the likely changes. Some already had plans for moving back into the community.

She said the hostels were not intended to become ‘‘home’’ and the goal was to support all clients to move on.

‘‘We will be working very carefully to ensure everybody is provided with a suitable alternative.

‘‘We will continue to provide accommodation, but less than at the moment.’’

Hutson said she understood concern about the availability of housing for vulnerable people.

‘‘I’m confident we will continue to look after these sort of people.’’

Shepherd’s Rest trustee Lew Findlay said the loss of accommodation would put stress on other services in the city. He said he understood the Salvation Army’s difficulty — there was no government money for housing.

‘‘There is no emergency housing in Palmerston North at all. The rest of us are not funded to do that sort of service.’’

He said Shepherd’s Rest might be able to provide some support, but it did not have the social services to wrap around its residents.

The resident who spoke to Manawatu Standard said without the hostel, he believed he would have been dead.

‘‘This place, in three months, has changed my life.’’