The DCC takes the plight of the homeless extremely seriously, but homelessness is an incredibly challenging problem with many causes and involving people with complex needs. There are no quick or easy fixes.
Even proposals seemingly as simple as converting Aaron Lodge to emergency accommodation, or moving people from tents into a Forbury Park stable or containers, are not as straightforward as they might seem.
These ideas can run into obstacles — like government legislation — which have so far made them unworkable in practice, but the inability to progress these ideas does not mean a lack of action by the DCC, so here are a few facts worth knowing.
The DCC is one of the largest providers of community housing in New Zealand, offering 940 units to tenants across the city. We have a particular focus on filling a gap in the market by prioritising the elderly and those most in need.
We’re also continuing to expand this service. We have another $20 million for new units and $22.6m for the upgrade of existing units in our current budgets, which has helped ensure we offer quality accommodation that meets healthy home standards one year ahead of government requirements.
But investing in our housing portfolio is also only one part of what we’re doing to help.
We have supported projects with developers, like Russell Lund, which have helped deliver an increase in housing in our city.
We are also looking at our plans and trying to make them easier to navigate, to encourage housing development, and this work is ongoing.
An example is the updates we’re rolling out to our district plan (the "2GP") to enable more medium-density housing and new "greenfields" development at suitable locations around our city.
These changes are expected to provide sufficient new housing — and of the right types for our changing demographic needs — in the years ahead.
Separately, we’re also working to deliver a Housing Action Plan which contains 16 recommendations for local and central government, developers and the social sector.
This plan was one product arising from the earlier Mayor’s Taskforce for Housing, and the plan’s recommendations aim to increase and improve the housing stock within Dunedin, including healthy, affordable and accessible homes.
The plan also includes a focus on achieving "functional zero" homelessness in Ōtepoti Dunedin, which means more people finding a home than becoming homeless.
To deliver on this commitment, the DCC is working with a wide range of other organisations to develop a city-wide approach to homelessness. The list includes government, non-government and charitable organisations, from Corrections, Kāinga Ora, the Ministry of Social Development and Oranga Tamariki, to Te Whatu Ora, Te Puna Kokiri and WellSouth, as well as representatives from mana whenua, the Dunedin Night Shelter, Presbyterian Support Otago, Salvation Army and Ōtepoti Dunedin Whanau Refuge.
Our approach is believed to be unique in New Zealand and we’re already seeing results. We have more people on our DCC housing waitlist, and regular visits to the Oval by Kāinga Ora, Police and MSD have resulted in some of those previously living in tents finding homes elsewhere.
These sorts of systemic issues don’t get fixed overnight, but we’re also offering more short-term support for our homeless and supporting other organisations to do the same.
We provide regular funding to social agencies and volunteer organisations across Dunedin, including the Dunedin Night Shelter, to help them support those in need.
At the same time, we continue to open our Oval changing rooms on Sundays, so those who need to can access free hot showers in addition to the support being offered by other organisations.
We’ve trained key DCC staff — those most likely to interact with homeless people — on how best to offer support, including putting homeless people in direct contact with relevant support agencies, such as the Ministry of Social Development.
We’re in regular contact with property developers — among other parties — to assist in housing development, and we continue to offer a range of assistance, including funding, to help with projects like the redevelopment of the Loan and Mercantile building.
We are also working collaboratively, both locally and nationally, to advocate to government on specific housing-related issues and discuss homelessness with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Most recently, this has included the mayor’s proposal for Aaron Lodge, which was put to Kāinga Ora (the property’s owner) and Housing Minister Chris Bishop. It’s unfortunate neither supported the proposal, but the government’s doors remain open and we’ll continue our push to improve the support available for our homeless wherever we can.
Homelessness is something nobody in our community deserves to have to face, and we all need to work together to address this difficult issue.
• Carmen Houlahan is a Dunedin City Councillor
