Budget and Brydan bring social housing 'rebuild' to Blenheim

Thursday, 17 May 2018

Brydan Accommodation will sleep up to 50 people when it becomes temporary accommodation.

Homeless solo mothers in Blenheim have their fingers crossed as the Government's newly-announced 'Rebuild Budget' confirms new social housing initiatives.

A large chunk of the 2018 Budget has been allocated to the housing sector, with $234 million put aside for 6400 new state and social homes over four years.

The Budget, released on Thursday afternoon, comes as the Housing First programme is confirmed for Blenheim, while next week the town's first temporary accommodation provider will open.

Brydan Accommodation, a motel purchased by the Ministry of Social Development on Middle Renwick Rd, has an official opening date of next Friday.

**READ MORE:

Two homeless solo mothers are looking forward to getting out of a damp and cold motel as new social housing initiatives get underway in Blenheim.

* Budget 2018: Government promises 6400 new state and social houses

* Motel to become emergency housing, but without the pool and spas

* Government's Housing First programme to find a home in Nelson

* Does the Government have any money for this Budget? Yes**

The temporary accommodation complex has been a long time coming for people sleeping rough, as the ministry first lodged an application in June last year following increasing numbers of homeless people in Blenheim.

Renovations at former Blenheim motel Brydan Accommodation are almost finished.

The new complex cannot open soon enough for one solo mother raising her first child alone in a cold and damp motel in Blenheim.

The former vineyard worker moved into the motel on an emergency accommodation grant before she gave birth about a month ago, having gone to the ministry for help as her former flatmates were violent and used drugs, she said.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson left, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, centre, and deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, right, on their way to deliver the Labour-led coalition's 'Rebuild Budget' for 2018.

'I've applied for rentals with different real estate companies but they keep declining my form, because when they ask if I have a fulltime job I have to say 'no'. It's difficult because my son is still young and I can't leave him to find a job.

'But I don't want my son to grow up in an abusive home either.'

Political editor Tracy Watkins and Business reporter Hamish Rutherford go over the Budget 2018.

Her son had already been to a doctor several times with respiratory problems, as the shower in their first motel unit was leaking into the floor and the walls were mouldy, she said.

'I just noticed it when I was going through my baby's luggage, all his clothes in the suitcase against the wall were wet. I believe that's one of the reasons why my son is real sick,' the woman said.

She was relieved to be on the ministry's list of new tenants for Brydan Accommodation, she said.

Christchurch Methodist Mission director Jill Hawkey, left, and Crossroads Charitable Trust co-ordinator Janette Walker will manage Brydan Accommodation.

'I have heard the new motel is better than here. Not as cold anyway.'

But another young mother at the motel said she did not want to move into Brydan, even if it was warmer and drier.

'We've been moving a lot, and we had to move out for four days over the weekend because the room was pre-booked by people here for the marathon,' the teenager said.

'But when the heater is on it's warm, and it's walking distance to everything - Work and Income, groceries, doctor appointments.'

But the woman was excited to learn the new Budget would include the Housing First initiative coming to Blenheim.

'That's really good, to be honest. I would be really happy about that, rather than going from motel to motel.'

The aim of Housing First was to get homeless people straight into rental properties without having to go through temporary accommodation, using an evidence-based model already implemented in other countries.

Once they were in a stable living situation, wrap-around services would address other issues such as mental health issues or addiction.

Former Labour candidate for Kaikōura Janette Walker said she was 'thrilled to pieces' over the change in social housing in Blenheim.

'I think it's probably the start of social and economic transformation in the country. There's a lot of things that need to be corrected, like funding infrastructure, and there's a lot of capital expenditure to happen, so it's not going to be corrected straight away.

'But it sends a clear message that this Government is in for the long haul. We can't simply carry on as we have been.'

Walker was co-ordinator of Crossroads Charitable Trust, which had partnered with Christchurch Methodist Mission to manage Brydan Accommodation.

The new housing initiatives being rolled out in Marlborough were about 'ensuring people have a good quality of life', she said.

'They need opportunities, because as a society we need functioning families. And housing, education and health are the platforms to give opportunity from.'

Earlier this month Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced $63.4m in funding to roll out Housing First across the country over the next four years.

'Ending homelessness is a priority for the Government. Every person has a right to a warm, dry, secure and safe place to live,' Twyford said.

'People who are homeless a long time are very vulnerable. They often face complex issues such as poor health or mental health, substance abuse and unemployment. Stable housing is a vital first step in helping them turn their lives around.

Twyford confirmed funds were allocated to Blenheim, although the exact figure was yet to be decided. The programme would reach Blenheim later this year or early next year, he said.

'Housing First is a proven way to house and support people who have been homeless a long time, or are homeless and face multiple and complex needs,' Twyford said.

'The approach is simple: provide housing quickly then offer tailored support for as long as it's needed to help people stay housed and lead better lives.

'Housing First aims to end homelessness for people, not just manage it. The goal is that homelessness should be brief, rare and non-recurring.'

Twyford encouraged homeless people to contact Work and Income to find out what support was available.

'No-one should be left out in the cold this winter.'

The $2.1 billion KiwiBuild scheme was already funded in the 'mini-Budget' released last December. Marlborough was already expecting 13 new state homes built by June, as announced in March.

The heath sector got the largest chunk of funding in the Rebuild Budget 2018, with $3.2b allocated for operating costs and $850m for capital spend.

The budget also allowed for free GP visits for under 14-year-olds, and up to $30 off GP visits for Community Card holders.

Education got another large chunk with $1.6b for operating costs and $334m for capital, with operational funding for schools' day-to-day running boosted by 1.6 per cent, as well as boosts for early childhood education and high learning needs.

Opposition leader Simon Bridges called it a 'borrow, tax and spend' budget.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the budget was intended to be transformational, but change took time.