How a 'super dad' took on more than he could handle and ended up homeless

Tuesday, 1 June 2021

The tragedies and bad luck that can push people into homelessness were also voiced in a report into two Housing First initiatives (file photo).

Having a shower without permission, and owning an oven.

These are among the highlights Kohe Wharerau, a formerly homeless Rotorua woman who, thanks to the Housing First Rotorua scheme, now has a roof over her head.

Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta launched the Housing First programme in Rotorua in 2018.

How she and others ended up homeless, how the programme helped them, and what still needs to be done has been spelt out in a Ministry of Housing and Urban Development report into Housing First Rotorua, and a second report into a scheme in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

The reports, from kaupapa Māori research, evaluation and policy development group Tiaho Ltd, also shone a light on the circumstances that can lead someone to homelessness.

Associate Minister of Housing (Homelessness) Marama Davidson said the reports provided “powerful and insightful narratives from whānau who have experienced homelessness”.

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For Keith Newton, formerly a “well-to-do family man”, his journey to homelessness began with a car accident.

It left his then partner a tetraplegic and set him on a path to addiction, loss of custody of children, a relationship breakdown and after the death of his father, a spell in prison.

“After the accident, my persona was ‘Super Dad’, but the stress of looking after the kids, looking after the kids’ mum, looking after the house, going to work, paying the bills and all of that, I’d bitten off more than I could chew,” he said.

“We resorted to taking all sorts of drugs and when the kids were uplifted by Oranga Tamariki, I hit rock bottom. It was a really lonely place, one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy … I never thought I’d be homeless.”

Motels in Rotorua are now filled with emergency housing clients instead of tourists. (This video was first published in March 2021.)

For Wharerau, the death of her father saw her unable to remain in the whānau-owned home she lived in with her children, leading her to emergency housing in a motel.

“It was hard on the kids because of the gangs and the drugs that were around,” she said.

Peter Fielding told the report writers the challenge of finding an affordable home for him and his special-needs son saw them renting a garage.

It was a place where, despite a tenancy agreement with the house owner, he was often denied access to the kitchen, laundry and shower facilities.

“Living in the garage was really traumatic for us, especially my son,” he said.

“We were prepared to live on the streets rather than remain there.”

The Christchurch report echoes these stories, with the added problems caused in the wake of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

One woman told report writers she lived with her son and mokopuna in a Kāinga Ora home, until her son’s death.

“I’d signed the papers to be on the tenancy with my son but Kāinga Ora said they didn’t have them,” she said.

“I was given three days to find another place for me and my two mokos and our two dogs … the mokos were taken … the dogs were taken. I was homeless for over a year.”

For a woman named only as Michelle, the daughter of immigrant parents from Niue who struggled on arrival to Aotearoa, childhood sexual abuse and later violent relationships, loss of children, addiction and jail time all paved her way to homelessness.

“A whole string of abuse is all I’ve ever known, from sexual abuse to domestic violence abuse to homelessness abuse, just abuse,” she said.

“Jail was starting to seem like a good home.”

Four of the five formerly homeless Rotorua people the report writers spoke to are now in their own homes, the fifth in motel accommodation.

Of the ten formerly homeless people across Rotorua and Chrictchurch, eight are now in their own homes, while two are in emergency motel accommodation awaiting a house.

One of the successes of the Rotorua scheme, according to Tiaho Ltd, has been its iwi-led, kaupapa-based approach.

Moira Lawler, the now former Lifewise Trust chief executive, said being iwi-led gave the programme “a kind of weight and a gravitas that would not be available without it”.

The manaaki-based Rotorua hub approach was also hailed as making homeless people feel valued and keeping them engaged in the programmes on offer.

The report also revealed some of the positive changes that a home has brought.

“It’s the simple things, of knowing I can go home and have a shower without asking for permission,” Wharerau said.

“I’ve got an oven. It’s awesome. My son’s health is improving and I’m slowly coming right too.”

The report notes, however, that housing supply remains a challenge in Rotorua and is impacting the work of Housing First.

“Funding Housing First does not solve the housing crisis or the quality of housing in Rotorua which is shocking,” Lawler said.

The reports have been welcomed by Associate Minister of Housing Marama Davidson.

“These two pūrākau reports provide powerful and insightful narratives from whānau who have experienced homelessness.”

She said the challenges, lessons and key areas of success will assist Housing First providers in the work they do providing appropriate, secure housing and in-home support.