- Hon Marama Davidson
The latest progress report for the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan shows milestones continue to be met as the Government works hard to address homelessness.
This is the fifth progress report on the plan which first launched in February 2020.
"The last six months has seen solid progress against the 18 actions outlined in the plan. By agencies working collectively with communities, Māori, iwi and housing providers, we've been able to support more New Zealanders out of homelessness," said Associate Minister of Housing (Homelessness), Marama Davidson.
"One of the milestones I'm really proud of is the contracting of over 2200 sustaining tenancy places which will help individuals, families and whānau who may be at risk of losing their tenancies.
"By putting people's needs at the centre of our mahi we've been able to support people in private or public housing that could be struggling to pay rent, dealing with mental or physical health issues or risk factors such as addiction or family violence.
"Communities and their commitment on the ground has been absolutely vital to the progress we're seeing through the HAP. I'm thrilled we've recently been able to provide close to $6 million to local initiatives that will have a strong focus on supporting Māori, Pasefika and rangatahi who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness.
"Homelessness should never be inevitable. By working collectively on prevention approaches and providing wrap-around support when people most need it, we can help put an end to homelessness in our communities."
The following milestones for the Homelessness Action Plan have been met in the six months from February-August 2022 (cumulative figures since February 2020):
- Pilots in Auckland and Waikato to support people leaving acute mental health and addiction inpatient units
- 2,202 Sustaining Tenancies places contracted as at end August to help individuals, families and whānau keep their places to live
- 918 individuals and whānau engaged with the Rapid Rehousing pilot, with 311 individuals and whānau transitioned into permanent housing.
- 99 places delivered to support rangatahi youth leaving Oranga Tamariki care
- Close to $6 million allocated to local work and projects that respond to and prevent homelessness in round two of the local innovation partnership fund.
- 12 regions with dedicated housing broker services
The full progress report is available here.
