Salvation Army Covid impact report ‘disturbing’

A decade-high number of people accessing working-age benefits, more people using the drug GHB and a 30 per cent spike in food parcel distribution are among the findings from the Salvation Army’s latest Social Impact Dashboard.

The Salvation Army said its sixth and final Covid-19 Social Impact Dashboard ‘‘has been both disturbing and illuminating ... as a social commentary on the impacts of Covid-19 on communities since early April 2020’’. The report examined several issues – including food security, housing, addictions, financial hardship and employment – and found a particular spike in those accessing benefits. ‘‘The number of people on working-age benefits reached 369,000 on November 13, the highest number for more than a decade, and is expected to rise by another 70,000 to peak in May 2021 at 443,000,’’ the report says. ‘‘The rise in jobseeker numbers is the main source of increase in overall benefit numbers and this is expected to continue into next year.’’

There was also a noticeable rise in people aged 50 and above struggling to find work ‘‘competing against returned New Zealanders with strong skills’’.

There was also a sharp rise in people waiting to access social housing, with more than 20,000 applicants in August.

‘‘Since April 2020, essentially over the main Covid-19 lockdown periods, over 3600 new applications were added to the waiting list,’’ the report says.

‘‘This is a 22 per cent increase since our first Dashboard in early April 2020. Nearly half of these applicants are Ma¯ori and 12 per cent are Pasifika, clearly showing their disproportionate representation on this waiting list.’’

A dramatic rise in emergency housing special needs grants, used to pay for shortterm accommodation in motels and other temporary housing, was also seen. ‘‘The impact of Covid-19 is clear here. In the quarter ending June 2020, 38,883 emergency housing special needs grants were paid out to 9614 clients, totalling $79.3 million.’’

One of the report authors, Ana Ika, told Stuff one of the findings that surprised her most was the rise in online gambling.

‘‘They did not have another avenue to gamble, so they went online. It had a huge impact.’’ Ika that because they had followed several indicators for six months, most of their findings around issues like food security and financial hardship ‘‘were expected’’.

The Salvation Army also reported food parcel distribution 30 per cent above preCovid levels and an increasing prevalence of the use of the drug GHB (gammahydroxybutyric acid).

‘‘This mirrors reports from the Drug Information and Alert New Zealand that more and more people are reporting to emergency departments with GHB overdoses, particularly in the Wellington region.’’

The report also found an increase in the number of children in households receiving welfare of more than 20,000 since March to 205,000 at the end of September.

‘‘Without decisive action to lift incomes for these households, child poverty and hardship will increase, and poverty reduction targets will not be reached.’’

The report also contained several suggestions for Government, including more support for community housing providers and iwi housing initiatives through capital grants and access to Government-owned land.

Raising core benefit levels also signalled a response to food hardship.

‘‘The current benefit levels are not adequate for families to put nutritious daily food on the table.’’

Ika says that while increasing core benefit levels is only a ‘‘band aid’’, it will still provide relief for many families, especially with the festive season approaching. ‘‘A Covid Christmas will look a lot different for a lot of families. The first thing that goes is food.’’