Nightshelter not permanent home
I was asked by a man at a recent talk that I presented, what do I think we could do to stop people being homeless? I told him that I would think about it and get back to him, so here goes.
Nightshelters are a secondary strategy to assist those who are homeless.
The nightshelter response is crucial for many who just need a bed for a few nights to get their affairs sorted. The nightshelter currently is also very useful for those who are released from institutions like prisons and mental health services.
Nightshelters are also a good response for those who may find themselves in need of temporary emergency accommodation due to financial challenges. What is important is that we understand that Nightshelters are not homes.
The use of motels for emergency accommodation for parents, children and the very vulnerable is also currently a necessity. I believe MSD here in Hamilton have been unfairly vilified recently for their excessive use of motels.
Hamilton had the second largest emergency motel occupancy in the country and as a person working at the coal face I saw this number as positive. I know from the data that themum with the two children who rings me up asking for a room at the nightshelter (we have no service for children or families) will be housed in a warm environment and that the children would not be sleeping in a park or the back of a car.
The Housing First model, that is currently being pushed as the silver bullet that will house everybody, has had some great success with those individuals who have been in the state of chronic homelessness for many years but it has yet to be proven as a solution for families or any indigenous populations.
Housing First, like the night shelters and the motels, does not prevent homelessness, it is a secondary solution.
There are three primary prevention tools that are proved to prevent and reduce homelessness and they are the following. Firstly there needs to be an availability of housing, for the clients that I work with this means more social housing.
Number two is affordability, the people who I work with are running financially on empty most of the time and when they have to pay most of their income on rent they become homeless in a very short time. Lastly but very importantly the people I work with require assistance to sustain tenancy, some require it short term others require it long term.
So the answer to the man’s question regarding what I think we could do to stop people being homeless is addressing the issues of affordability, availability, and assistance. With these issues addressed we may no longer need motels, the Housing First Model or maybe even nightshelters.
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Email lawrence.gullery@fairfaxmedia.co.nz