'It didn't need to be this difficult': A single father's four-day emergency housing ordeal

Thursday, 8 July 2021

“They didn’t want to admit they had made a mistake, and that it could be sorted,” Marcus Murray says.

A single father and his 11-year-old son were caught in the intractable gears of bureaucracy for several days after being told to leave motel-based emergency housing in central Wellington.

“They [the Ministry of Social Development] told me we had to move out that same day,” Marcus Murray said.

Daphany Haenga has lived at The Setup on Manners twice over the last six months.

And so began a four-day ordeal for the man and his son, which included an offer from the ministry of alternative accommodation, and several phone calls met with unbudging denials, even after the Quest on Lambton agreed to extend the family’s stay.

“They didn’t want to have a bar of it. They didn’t want to look into it, or anything like that – it was like I had inconvenienced them. But I wasn’t going to take that lying down.”

* The truth about The Setup on Manners, Wellington's notorious emergency housing hotel

Marcus Murray and his 11-year-old son have been allowed to stay in their emergency accommodation, at the Quest on Lambton.

* Man who faced homelessness moves cities to find a house for him and his dog

Terrance De Souza, 70, has cycled in and out of emergency housing over the last few years. He had never been homeless before, but now fears he will have to live in a car with his dog. (Video first published April 2021)

The saga culminated in a dramatic act of civil disobedience at a local ministry branch, with the man “staging a hikoi” at the front desk, refusing to leave until he was seen by a case manager.

The protest was successful, and, following a five-minute conversation, Murray was told he could stay. But the experience had left him feeling worn out, and dismayed.

“It didn’t need to be this difficult,” he said.

When contacted by Stuff, however, the ministry said Murray’s accommodation had been withdrawn by the motel due to “aggression” by him towards staff during a conversation about maintenance.

And once the wheels were in motion, stopping them was no simple matter.

“The accommodation became available again because the provider changed their mind, informing us they were comfortable extending Marcus’ stay after all,” the ministry’s social development regional commissioner Gagau Annandale-Stone said.

There are fears Aotearoa could end up with a 'motel generation' as whānau struggling to afford rents are bumped across emergency accommodation providers.

“There were some complications in terms of reversing arrangements, given the work that had already been put into setting up new accommodation.”

Murray acknowledged he had had a conversation with the emergency housing provider about maintenance work, and there was a misunderstanding caused by a language barrier.

But he was at a loss to understand why the ministry had so doggedly refused to reverse its decision for days after the motel agreed to an extension.

“They didn’t want to admit they had made a mistake, and that it could be sorted. If they’re doing it to me, they're doing it to a lot of other people as well.”

Annandale-Stone said the ministry had instead offered Murray accommodation at the Victoria Court Motor Lodge, another inner-city emergency housing provider.

The “fully self-contained, one-bedroom apartment” had three beds; one queen and two singles. That accommodation, in some ways, was a sweeter deal: “more child-friendly”, with free parking, she said.

That, however, was news to Murray. He was told about a one-bedroom apartment at a motel – from which he understood that he and his son would have to “sleep in the same bed”.

And, besides, he was reluctant to move when his son had “finally established some friends” at a new school after moving three times that year.

The family had moved to Paraparaumu from Christchurch earlier in the year. Murray split from his partner, after which he and his son had nowhere to stay.

Because of a lack of other options, they moved into emergency accommodation in Porirua. Murray even lost his job because of that relocation. They later moved to the Quest on Lambton.

Annandale-Stone said the uncertainty would have been hard on the family. “This has been a difficult situation for Marcus and his son, and we’ve worked closely with Marcus and the motelier to resolve a number of issues.”

Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge said the toll on people navigating the system was often immense.

“I can only guess at how it must feel for him. Life is pretty tough, and it feels like the system is making it harder for him, when in actual fact the system is designed to support his needs. That’s a cruel irony, and something we should endeavour to get better at.”

Edridge, however, sympathised with the ministry as well, which was dealing with an unprecedented crisis.

Emergency housing was a “temporary solution”, and not an ideal one, he said.