She has nowhere to go

‘I’m facing death, sitting on a street corner somewhere ... I’m cold. It’s getting colder.’

Homeless for six years, living in emergency accommodation for two years, Raelyn Monkhouse instead bunked down in her car, until last week when it was stolen.

Now, the 58-year-old says she will be rough sleeping within the week, and the Ministry of Social Development has refused to help.

‘‘I’m facing death, sitting on a street corner somewhere – that’s what’s going through my mind,’’ Monkhouse said.

‘‘I have shoes which are open-toed, those are the only shoes that I own. I can’t carry much with me. I’m cold. It’s getting colder.’’

In an email sent on April 7, a representative from the ministry advised Monkhouse it ‘‘would not grant any more emergency housing’’ to her, even after she told them she was sleeping in her car. But when contacted by Stuff, the ministry said this was a mistake.

‘‘We apologise to Raelyn for incorrectly advising that she will no longer be supported into emergency accommodation,’’ its social development regional commissioner, Gagau Annandale-stone, said.

‘‘We will continue to work with her to discuss what support she requires and what options are available.’’

However, Monkhouse – who was staying at an Airbnb in Palmerston

Raelyn Woodhouse sits on the street where her car, which she had been sleeping in, was stolen. The items in her purse are all she has left. North, and would soon run out of money – said the ministry was yet to contact her, four days after Stuff’s approach.

Yesterday afternoon, AnnandaleStone said the ministry had arranged to meet Monkhouse early next week.

Monkhouse previously stayed in emergency housing at Silverstream Retreat in Stokes Valley for around two years. She suffered lung infections during her stay, because the accommodation had ‘‘black mould’’, she said. Monkhouse left in January to house-sit in another part of the country before returning to Wellington in March.

When Stuff asked about conditions at Silverstream Retreat, AnnandaleStone said the ministry expected its clients to get the same quality of service as any other guest. Silverstream Retreat director George Ross said noone had complained aboutmould, and he would have ‘‘dealt with any complaints promptly’’.

Monkhouse believed she had slid down the social housing waiting list in the last two years – from A20, the highest priority, to A16 – even while her health worsened.

‘‘I have a history of lung problems ... I’ve been told I have walking pneumonia,’’ she said. ‘‘I have borderline osteoporosis, degradation in the bones through my back and neck.’’

Annadale-stone, however, said the ministry had ‘‘no record of being made aware’’ about Monkhouse’s worsening health conditions. It had, instead, ‘‘experienced a number of obstacles’’ while trying to help her.

It had assisted her with $800 for bond and $4000 rent in advance when she briefly moved into a private rental in February 2019, AnnadaleStone said. Then, when she fell behind on rent four months later, it had covered $1687.58 in arrears.

Since 2019, she had turned down three offers of social housing.

Monkhouse said she wasn’t allowed inside to view one of those houses, while a case manager who showed her through a second property ‘‘told me to decline the property’’ because the area was unsafe. A third house had been withdrawn while she was still considering the offer.

She had been a personal assistant at several government departments in the 1990s, but had struggled to find work in recent years.

Between 2015 and late 2018, she was sleeping ‘‘three or four nights a week’’ in her car and didn’t receive emergency housing. Annadale-stone said the ministry couldn’t contact Monkhouse to obtain necessary documents for her application, which created challenges in understanding her housing requirements.

Monkhouse had lost ‘‘virtually everything’’ when her car was stolen in Palmerston North last week, including the ashes of a pet and photos of her late parents.

Unless something in her circumstances changed, she would be rough sleeping within the week. ‘‘I don’t have anywhere else to go,’’ she said.