As motels close doors to emergency guests people are being forced into tents

Tuesday, 10 March 2020

Julia Milne with camping gear people sometimes use when they've got nowhere to stay.

Desperate families are turning to tents to live in as moteliers close the door on emergency housing.

Extreme pressure on social housing, a lack of motels accepting emergency cases and high rents are squeezing people in Wellington and Wairarapa into the most temporary of lodgings.

The Plimmerton motel purchase is the first of its type in the region.

The shortage of emergency housing has become so acute in Lower Hutt some people have resorted to camping in the valley's hills.

Julia Milne, founder of the Common Unity Project, said people on emergency housing waitlists had been using supplies from the charity's camping equipment library to set up temporary homes in the bush.

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'Our camping library was established two years ago so community members could access camping equipment.

'What we have noticed over the last 12 months is an uptake in people wanting to access equipment long-term in the face of homelessness. There are people living rough in the hills around the Hutt and Wainuiomata.'

The Common Unity Project had also been approached by volunteer groups looking to kit out their clients.

Milne was 'deeply disturbed' camping equipment was being used for long-term habitation. She said a taskforce needed to be established to deal with homelessness before winter approached.

In response, the Ministry for Social Development has urged people struggling to contact the agency.

'We would be concerned to hear about anyone who is camping because they have been turned away for emergency accommodation,' said Karen Hocking, General Manager Housing.

'It's important to know that no-one needs to be living rough, we are here to help.'

Trust House chief executive Allan Pollard says the region needs more Crown investment in low-cost housing.

She said there was no waitlist for emergency housing.

'We also recognise that the final decision on where someone stays is with the individual.'

Those many individuals are struggling in Wairarapa as well, where accommodation is in short supply and many motels are refusing to take emergency guests.

The owner of the Highwayman Motel in Masterton, Mark Wellington, said they no longer accepted emergency housing guests on Work and Income grants as they didn't fit with their model.

The owner of the Amble Inn Motel says they have had bad experiences with emergency housing guests.

'When you've got a lot of people coming to stay who are coming to work or on holiday, it's hard to fit in these longer-term guests.

'The people who require emergency housing don't really fit with our way of doing things, so we just say 'no',' he said.

The Amble Inn on Chapel St near the middle of town had a similar view.

Owner Graham Stephens said they were 'disappointed and letdown' by some of the special needs grants guests who had turned their motel into 'party central'.

'Since then, for our own stress, and our other guests' comfort, we no longer have them.'

He was aware that one Masterton motel was being transformed into a transitional housing provider and another establishment did take guests with emergency housing special needs grants.

Ministry of Social development general manager housing Karen Hocking said affordable accommodation was tight across the country, including transitional housing.

'We recognise that not all motels and accommodation providers offer emergency accommodation for our clients and we value the relationship and the service provided by those that do open their doors to people with urgent housing needs.

'Ultimately the decision of whether to provide emergency housing to those in need rests with the business owner.'

Trust House Limited owns the majority of social housing in Wairarapa and has a waiting list of up to 80 families needing houses.

Chief executive Allan Pollard said it was mainly a 'demand and supply problem' which could be solved if the Government invested in partnerships with community housing providers to build more stock.

'If there was more fulltime, low-cost affordable accommodation there would be no need for emergency or transitional housing. There needs to be better Crown investment.'

Kāinga Ora (formerly Housing New Zealand) is buying a motel in Porirua for use as transitional housing, but does not own any other motels in region for that purpose.

In the final quarter of last year 3079 emergency housing special needs grants were given out supporting 590 households in the Greater Wellington region at a cost of $4.7 million.

There were currently 1618 applicants waiting for a house in the Wellington region.