A sharp rise in homelessness in Marlborough has put people working to house and feed them under serious pressure.
Jeanine Sadd, who managed the community kitchen Crossroads Marlborough Trust, said the service was starting to struggle due to the high numbers of people coming in for food, a shower, and the washing machine.
“I’m getting closer to 60 and I’ve never seen it this bad,” Sadd said.
“Our numbers are going up but our financial supports are all down. There’s just not enough of anything ‒ money, houses, people.
“It’s always down to money because you need highly trained staff, the right location [and] resources.”
Vanya Vitasovich, regional housing manager for Christchurch Methodist Mission, said since the Government tightened the criteria for emergency housing eligibility last winter, demand for their housing advocacy services in Marlborough had increased by 170%.
“We’re having people walk through the doors pretty much every day,” she said.
The organisation’s Housing First programme, funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, worked with landlords to help chronically homeless people into housing.
“We’re at capacity with our Housing First contract,” Vitasovich said.
“We’re contracted to support up to 60 clients [in Marlborough]. We’re currently supporting 68, and we’re not funded to do those [extra eight], and yet we’ve got seven on our wait list.”
Housing First team leader Zuki Leonard said with low turnover of emergency housing spots, people in urgent need were left to wait. Most in demand were one and two-bedroom homes, which Blenheim had a particular shortage of.
The Ministry of Social Development’s housing register showed that in June, of the 192 people waiting for help with housing in Marlborough, 117 were seeking a one-bedroom home, and 48 needed a two-bedroom home.
“It’s really hard when people come in the door and need that help and support, and they fit the Housing First criteria without a doubt, but we actually can’t support them because we’re at capacity,” Leonard said.
Many of their clients were now people aged over 65, prompting them to change the units at their transitional housing complex, the former Brydan motel, to kaumātua units instead of whānau.
Youth homelessness was also an increasing issue, Vitasovitch said.
“Because [of] our contracts we can only house people who are 18+.
“The team has been supporting people who are living in emergency housing who are under 18, and it’s really difficult to be able to find housing for them.”
Vitasovitch said support from central government was “non-existent”.
“We’ve got an outreach programme where we provide kai packs and sleeping bags and warm blankets … and Marlborough District Council have been really good in supporting us with that money,” she said.
“But at the end of the day, we need more housing.
“There’s literally no funding for housing for Marlborough. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, it’s like the taps being completely turned off.
“The regions, it’s like we’re being forgotten about.”
The council also provided seniors housing, with a wait list of 27 people, which had grown by five applicants since January.
Mayor Nadine Taylor said she had been hearing concerns about the rise in homelessness from the community.
“We certainly look to the Government to take a lead on this, because it is a nationwide issue.”
However the council had a role to play by ensuring communication and efficiency between community groups on the front line, she said.
“Not everything can fall to council to solve or to fund, because that falls to the ratepayer to fund,” she said.
“These groups are all working very hard in their own space, but there can be either duplication, or there can be gaps.
“If we get these groups together, then we can create a lot more awareness and understanding of the work and efficiencies.”
Taylor said she had directed the council’s community team to reach out to the community groups before the end of the year.
“I don’t want to see us turning away from this,” she said.
“As usual in Marlborough, we are a collective. We want to take everybody with us and ensure that everybody is taken care of or that needs are being met.”
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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