Shelter’s Post

While the Government celebrates numbers shifting on a spreadsheet, more people who are experiencing homelessness are being denied shelter. Despite the Ministers assurances, there is no guarantee that if you require shelter that you can gain access to Emergency Housing. The barriers the Government has strengthened, are meaning that people are often requiring the support of advocates in order to gain shelter, and even where they can get support from a service that can provide that advocacy, there is no guarantee that they will be successful in being granted shelter. The Government's changes have not dealt with the structural reasons why people have been experiencing homelessness and remaining in emergency motels for an extended period of time. People are experiencing homelessness because they do not have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. This Government has stalled public housing builds and increased barriers to Emergency shelter without providing alternative support services or options for people. The only outcome here is more people on our streets and in dangerous and vulnerable situations. Homelessness is a crisis in NZ, we can play with numbers and shuffle around some deck chairs, however until we begin seriously addressing the systemic reasons homelessness persists, people - real people - will continue to suffer the results of our collective negligence. #LoveIsTheWay #endyouthhomelessness #endhomelessness #Homelessness #right2housing #Housingcrisis #HousingIsAHumanRight #nzpol Government celebrates as number of whānau in emergency housing drops by more than half https://lnkd.in/gRdZ_BeC

DEADLY: 74 children have died in temporary housing in the last five years. Not only is temporary housing less than ideal for homeless families, it is actually contributing to the deaths of children, at a rate of more than one a month. The government's new #homelessness strategy, currently being written, needs to urgently address this issue, with bold action to resource local authorities and partner organisations to create enough social rent homes and provide support. https://lnkd.in/evEeFB8e

Record High of Homelessness in Ireland. Recent figures reveal that 14,486 people are now living in emergency accommodation in Ireland, including over 4,400 children. The Salvation Army urges immediate action to address this growing crisis, emphasising the need for real solutions rather than political debates. As we head into winter, the call for affordable housing and effective support services is more urgent than ever. Let’s work together to create lasting change for families in need. Read more about the situation and our commitment to helping those experiencing homelessness in the Irish Independent article linked below. https://lnkd.in/eqYmNg4r

We spoke with 95bFM Campus Radio last week about Kick Back's concerns that the Government's decisions to make accessing Emergency Accommodation more difficult will put rangatahi at increased risk of sleeping rough. Policy's that deny access to shelter by increasing barriers, while also placing the blame on a young person for their experience, will result in increased harm for our rangatahi. Kick Back strongly advocates for the Government to ensure there are suitable alternatives to Emergency Accommodation in place for rangatahi at-risk of homelessness. Housing is a basic human need, and we believe all young people should have access to shelter, support, and the safety and security of a home. We call on the Government to fulfill it's obligation to uphold the #Right2Housing all young people have, and to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent and end youth homelessness, so no young person ever has to sleep on our streets. #KickBackMakeChange

Last week the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a damning report into the failures of successive governments to produce any meaningful strategy for tackling homelessness. Against a backdrop of spiralling costs to cash-strapped local authorities and long-lasting harm and trauma to vulnerable households, the Committee chair had this to say: "A lack of affordable housing, a focus on short-term solutions and no clear strategy to tackle this issue have left us with thousands of families in deeply troubling circumstances. Worryingly there seems to be no desire to move away from an unsatisfactory short-term system, leaving local authorities attempting to save a sinking ship with a little more than a leaky bucket.” Come on, government. I challenge you. There has to be a better way. https://lnkd.in/ep9XNsYU

The shocking rise in child deaths linked to temporary accommodation highlights the urgent need for action on the housing crisis. Families are being forced into unsafe living conditions, with devastating consequences. This Big Issue article sheds light on the scale of the problem and calls for systemic change. #HousingCrisis #SocialJustice #SafeHomesForAll

As taxpayers, we need to talk about the amount of money being spent on B&Bs for the homeless, and the lack of investment in longer-term solutions – like actual housing. North East Lincolnshire Council (full article here: https://lnkd.in/ew2u2-h6) this week announced that a lack of social housing has directly led to increased use of B&Bs to house those at risk of homelessness. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon story in these times: and it’s one that is likely to become more and more prevalent as the rental market remains high. The council remains committed to finding permanent housing solutions and continues to explore options for increasing the availability of temporary homes. The aim is to provide safe and stable housing for all those in need – but there’s just no fix that is quick enough. In the meantime, there are B&Bs. What other strategies can local councils take to tackle homelessness effectively? #Homelessness #SocialHousing #CommunitySupport

💬 “With the housing crisis forcing working families into homelessness, this should be a wake-up call for action.” A new UNSW, The University of Queensland and Homelessness Australia report has found the number of Australians sleeping rough has increased by 22% in the three years to 2023-24. In New South Wales alone, rough sleeping has surged by 51% since 2020, primarily driven by an increase in regional communities. Lead author of the report, UNSW Professor Hal Pawson noted that “Median rents have increased 51% since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shortage of social housing has continued to intensify.” Read the full story 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gNB5kGkw

Good folks! ─ this is dire! ... 🔔 🔔 🔔 👉 662% INCREASE 👈 🔔 🔔 🔔 in families placed by London boroughs in B&Bs from April 2022 to April 2024 ❗ ❗ ❗ ❗ ❗ 👉 Since 2012-13, boroughs’ net spending on B&B Accommodation has risen from £1.3m in 2012-13 to £207m in 2023-24, representing a 16,300% INCREASE ─ SIXTEEN THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED PER CENT ─ Wow blimey‼ 👉 The number of families living in B&Bs beyond the six-week limit rocketed from 114 to 1,600 over the past two years ... 👉 Currently, there are 320,000 households on waiting lists for social housing in London ... 👉 Rough sleeping has risen by 58% over the past 10 years ... 🔴 As of March 2024, there were 183,715 people living in temporary accommodation in the capital. Almost 90,000 of these individuals were children, meaning on average there is at least one homeless child in every London classroom 🔴

New research from me in the Observer reveals that homeless children are spending their entire childhood in temporary accommodation as ~14,000 households have been in temporary accommodation for five years or more - with 2,000 of those households in temporary accommodation for more than a decade. A handful of households have been in temporary accommodation for more than two decades. That means that in London 22 per cent of households in temporary accommodation - one in five - have been in that situation since at least 2018. Outside of London that figure is 13 per cent - equivalent to one in eight households.