Mayor offers Rotorua homeless Housing First hope

Friday, 20 July 2018

Help is on the way, but there are no quick fixes to the homeless issue, said Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick.

Help is on the way for Rotorua's homeless - but there's no quick fixes.

That's the view of Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, who said council continues to work with the Ministry of Social Development, providers and local groups.

Tiny Deane set up the first homeless night shelter and said he feared someone would die on the streets of Rotorua.

Chadwick issued the statement in the wake of controversy around Rotorua's first homeless night shelter.

The shelter was established by Tiny Deane and his Visions of a Helping Hand trust in June, but became bogged down in controversy over consents issues.

Members of Rotorua's homeless community took their call for a night shelter direct to council at a hikoi in June.

* Hikoi for homeless in Rotorua**

'There is no quick fix, there isn't just one solution and there isn't one single provider or agency that will resolve this on their own,' Chadwick said.

'The Ministry of Social Development's Housing First programme will be in Rotorua soon to provide long-term housing and support for the homeless. We look forward to a provider being announced and Council will do whatever we can to support this work.

'In the meantime, we continue to focus on getting everyone through this winter and on this front we're very pleased that MSD, as lead agency for emergency and social housing, is now providing an outreach service to offer immediate assistance to the homeless in our community. MSD says there is no need for anyone to be sleeping rough or in cars because there are options they can provide and that's very reassuring. We want everyone in our community to be safe.'

Meanwhile, Rotorua Lakes Council will keep working with various groups already providing support for the homeless and with others able to provide short-term assistance. Church groups in Rotorua, some of which already help families in need of emergency housing, have offered to provide support if needed.

Work to implement Council's homeless action plan following a meeting with homeless people to find out their needs is also continuing, including provision of access to ablution facilities.

'Homelessness is a challenging issue and there are many complexities involved. That's why we are working with a range of providers, including MSD, LinkPeople, Lifewise, churches and community groups, and why we're exploring any and all potential solutions which collectively may provide for people's immediate needs. Health services also need to be part of this.'

Councillors and Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey, who has expressed an interest in helping to address homelessness in Rotorua, are being kept up to date about the emergency response work under way to provide support for the homeless over winter.

Coffey said homelessness is an issue that affects the entire community.

'It is only through pulling together collectively as a community that we can deliver for our people in need. I encourage all those who may be able to help to contact MSD and let them know, just as I encourage those in need not to be shy about stepping forward.

'Many Kiwis across the country have offered shelter over the last few months, motivated by the Government's actions to address our national housing crisis. Our people are at the heart of this challenge and our people will be at the heart of the solution,' he said.