John Cowpland/Stuff
Homelessness in Napier has increased since the pandemic began, a report to council has found. (File photo)
It’s the art deco jewel of the country, but increasingly Napier’s streets and parks are filled with rough sleepers and those living without fixed abodes.
A new report to Napier City Council found homelessness has increased since Covid-19, with the number of people on the social housing waitlist up 35% to 801 this March.
Another 1260 whānau were living in emergency housing as of last month.
The report found homelessness had “increased significantly” through lack of access to adequate, permanent, affordable housing. Māori were disproportionately impacted by homelessness.
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“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic may be having a continued effect on housing stress and homelessness in all its forms,” it read.
Figures from 2018, show up to 530 whānau were considered severely housing deprived in Napier, of which 27 were without shelter. In Hastings, this jumped to 1039 people, with 57 living without shelter.
About 20 people were thought to be sleeping rough in Napier’s city centre, with more than double that sleeping in their cars.
The report found many community service providers felt emergency housing was a major issue, as motels were no place for whānau to live long term. Others felt the Napier community was less tolerant of homelessness than in Hastings.
WARWICK SMITH/STUFF
‘Aria’ talks about the hardship of experiencing homelessness and her desire to one day have a home to call her own. (First published January 2022)
It found there were community perception issues linking homelessness with anti-social behaviour, begging and community safety. Council received “intermittent reports” of rough sleeping, related anti-social behaviour and begging in the CBD and other commercial areas of Napier.
Community service providers had also seen an increased demand for their services.
Shirley Lammas, general manager of the Whatever It Takes Trust (WITT), said they had seen an increase in demand “across all levels of homelessness” since the pandemic began.
They had also been part of some initiatives to help address the issue.
Supplied
Whatever It Takes Trust (WITT) general manager Shirley Lammas agreed instances of homelessness had increased since the pandemic began. (File photo)
In partnership with Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, the trust had been on the ground providing support and services via the Outreach, Housing First, and the new initiative He Kakano for homelessness, she said.
She was especially keen to see progress and assistance around the WITT operated Outreach on Clive Square, to which she said the report seemed to give “limited recognition”.
The report stated the reopening of the Outreach centre at Clive Square had enabled access to services and contributed to a decrease in anti-social behaviour according to council staff and local police.
Gianina Schwanecke/Stuff
Napier’s Clive Square is often frequented by the city’s homeless. (File photo)
The main causes of homelessness identified in the report were linked to loss of employment, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, loss of mana and identity. Single men released from prison were especially struggling to find accommodation.
The council will consider its findings when they meet at its People and Places Committee meeting on Tuesday. This will include recommendations to form a regional taskforce to develop an action plan and investigating the establishment of a community hub.