Sick man housed in hotel
A homeless man who was living on the streets while struggling to recover from heart surgery is now staying in a $2000-a-week south Auckland hotel room paid for by the taxpayer while waiting to move into social housing.
His sorry story of sleeping rough, having his heart medication stolen and struggling to get a roof over his head highlighted the ‘‘lack of adequate state housing in New Zealand’’ said Auckland Action Against Poverty coordinator Ricardo Menendez.
Experts have predicted Auckland’s homeless crisis is set to spike to worse levels this winter than any previous year.
In response Housing Minister Phil Twyford this month announced $100m of funding for homelessness, with $37m allocated to finding 1500 new places this winter to ensure noone had to sleep on the streets or in their car.
For Lionel – too embarrassed by his situation to want his last name used – a hotel in Papatoetoe, in South Auckland, is now his home as he waits for a more permanent housing solution. He is on the Ministry of Social Development’s social housing register with a high A15 rating. But the only option at the moment is for Work and Income to pay for him to stay at the hotel.
The 44-year-old has been there for the past three weeks.
Lionel had major heart surgery two years ago and suffers from various medical conditions, including diabetes.
He and his teenage daughter were living with a niece in Manukau but had to move out earlier this year when her adult children moved back into the home.
‘‘I said: I’m a big guy. I can go out and find my own way.’’
Lionel took his daughter to stay with her mother in Hamilton and then returned to south Auckland but he had nowhere to live.
He says he felt lost and began sleeping rough. ‘‘I really had no plan and was thinking: what the heck am I going to do?’’
Lionel says he receives about $160 a week from his jobseeker support benefit which is not enough for a private rental.
He says that while sleeping rough he would buy pies when he was hungry but ‘‘I didn’t really eat that much now that I think about it’’.
He occasionally used the public facilities at the Manukau train station and says he wasn’t that bothered about sleeping outdoors.
‘‘I was taught when I was a kid to just keep your head and feet warm and you should be right. ‘‘I quite like the cold.’’ The few possessions Lionel had with him while he was living on the streets included a thick blanket, a duffle bag, and a suitcase containing his heart medication, clothing, and personal and medical documents.
He says one night two men took the suitcase.
After about a week with no heart medication, he collapsed outside the Manukau City shopping centre. A woman he doesn’t know helped him up, let him stay at her house overnight, and then took him to Work and Income the next day. She also put him in contact with the advocacy group Auckland Action Against Poverty, which is supporting Lionel.
Work and Income put him into the emergency accommodation at the hotel.
Lionel says most of the misfortune he has suffered in the past two years can be attributed to his heart problems and the surgery he had in May 2016.
‘‘Things haven’t gone right since. I’ve had problem after problem and I’ve been back into hospital about 15 times in the past year.’’ Lionel says his doctor gave him a medical certificate that says he needs to be off work for four years. He has unsuccessfully applied to Work and Income to receive supported living payments, which may give him a higher income and not require him to look for work.
Menendez fsaid Lionel’s situation highlighted the Auckland housing problem.
Ministry of Social Development Auckland regional commissioner Mark Goldsmith said the ministry had been supporting Lionel in his recovery from heart surgery through the jobseeker support benefit with deferred work obligations and a place to live. Goldsmith said the $2030 Work and Income is paying for Lionel to stay in the hotel each week does not need to be repaid.
He said the ministry was working with housing providers to secure a house for Lionel.
Like any client with a medical condition, Lionel needs to keep the ministry up to date with how he’s doing ‘‘so we can continue to support him in the right way’’, Goldsmith said. ‘‘We have not received a medical certificate saying he cannot work for the next four years, and have not declined his supported living payment application but rather asked for further paperwork.’’