Latest news with #AucklandCityMission
RNZ News
23-07-2025
- RNZ News
Govt concedes there's a 'real problem' with homelessness
A huge jump in the number of people sleeping rough and living without shelter has the Government conceding "it's clear we have a real problem". The report shows that in the eight months to May this year, Auckland has seen a 90% in people sleeping rough on the streets, in their cars or in parks. There have been significant inreases in other regions too, notably Christchurch, Wellington, Northland and Taranaki. Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Ministers Release Homelessness Insights Report
Hon Chris Bishop Minister of Housing Associate Minister of Housing The Government has released the latest Homelessness Insights Report and announced a series of actions to reduce the number of people living without shelter, including sleeping rough in New Zealand, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka say. 'Homelessness is a problem New Zealand has grappled with for a long time. It is a symptom of a dysfunctional housing market and is exacerbated during challenging economic times,' Mr Bishop says. 'Census data shows an ongoing trend of increasing homelessness, with 4,122 people living without shelter in 2013, 3,624 people in 2018 and 4,965 in 2023. 'The 2018 to 2023 period showed a 37% increase of people living without shelter despite the large-scale use of Emergency Housing costing well over $1 billion across that period. 'The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development's latest Homelessness Insights Report confirms what frontline organisations like the Auckland City Mission and Salvation Army have been saying: there are too many people in housing need. 'Accurate numbers are difficult to pin down - people without shelter often move around and may avoid engaging with government services - but it's clear we have a real problem. 'The Government takes this seriously. At present, over $550 million is spent annually across a range of programmes run by multiple agencies, including Transitional Housing, Housing First, Rapid Rehousing and many other support services.' 'All New Zealanders deserve a warm, dry place to stay, and the Government is determined to make progress on this long-running challenge for New Zealand,' Mr Potaka says. 'In the short-term, we've asked officials for advice on further targeted interventions to provide help and support to those living without shelter, including rough sleepers. We've asked for recommendations around better utilisation of existing programmes and existing services, and we are also open to new ideas that will make an enduring difference. 'We've made it clear that officials should engage with frontline providers such as the Auckland City Mission, The Wise Group and the Salvation Army, among others, because they are the organisations working at the frontline of this problem. 'We will not be returning to the previous government's large-scale emergency housing model, which cost over $1 million a day at its peak and was a social disaster. New Zealanders – including people sleeping rough - deserve better than that. 'The Government has an existing review under way of housing support services. There are hundreds of contracts for these services, and the system is complicated and often duplicative. Our aim is to make the system simpler, more effective, and reduce duplication. We want to fund what works. 'We're also looking at how to better support people leaving residential support programmes or prison. Stable housing is critical to successful reintegration and reducing reoffending.' 'Our long-term focus is on fixing the fundamentals of our housing market: freeing up land, removing planning barriers, improving infrastructure funding, and giving councils stronger incentives to support housing growth,' Mr Bishop says. 'Next year we'll replace the RMA with a new planning system that makes it easier to build the housing and infrastructure New Zealand needs. 'We're also looking at ways to improve the social housing system to ensure it delivers the right homes, in the right places, for the right people. The Government has recently changed Kāinga Ora's funding settings to enable the agency to build more one-bedroom units. About 50 per cent of people on the Housing Register require a one-bedroom unit, but they only make up about 12 per cent of Kāinga Ora's housing stock. 'Homelessness is complex and there are no easy answers, but we're determined to take meaningful actions – like our Priority One policy which has seen more than 2,100 children and their families moved from emergency housing motels into homes.'
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Free clinic opens at Auckland City Mission to tackle dental crisis
A new dental clinic has opened at the Auckland City Mission to deliver lifesaving dental care for those that need it most - free of charge. Nearly half of Kiwi adults are skipping going to the dentist because they can not afford it, according to the latest Ministry of Health annual survey . Research has shown that it is costing the country billions of dollars a year in lost productivity and quality of life with constant pain, serious infections, and hospital admissions. Dentist Dr Hugh Trengrove says the new clinic at the mission has been a dream of mission staff for more than a decade and several years in the making to get to this point. Dentist Dr Hugh Trengrove in the new free dental clinic at the Auckland City Mission. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Dr Trengrove said dental care was out of reach for many adults and the clinic was hoping to change that, offering the service to the people who already used the mission's services. "Nobody wants to come to see the dentist, but for the first time ever many of these people will have an opportunity of choosing to come and see the dentist." The clinic is mostly funded through donations, enough to cover equipment and a full-time dental assistant. The patients' care will be covered through a Ministry of Social Development dental grant, which allows patients to access up to $1000 of dental care. The new free dental clinic at the Auckland City Mission. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi But there were exceptions and Dr Trengrove said they will assess each patient on a case-by-case basis. He is part of a group of 17 dentists who have come onboard to volunteer their time at the clinic for free. The clinic, which will be open three days a week, was focused on accommodating all cultural, sensory, and accessibility needs for patients. "It's a safe place for them we're going to provide a service that's based around the individual needs of the patients. "It's not only providing dental care, but it's providing care in a holistic supported environment where we understand the true needs of the people accessing the care." The new free dental clinic at the Auckland City Mission. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Auckland City Mission director for housing and health Brendon Short said having the clinic located at the central Auckland mission will make a big difference. "It can be very complex when you don't know where you are bedded down at night. "It can be very complex if you have had poor experiences of healthcare services previously or general distrust of treatment. "The people that we see often have high levels of trauma and are negatively impacted in a range of different aspects by the impact of poverty." Tuesday was the first day of service for the clinic, and they already had a full list of patients signed up. "We've got a lot of people lined up waiting to come into the chair when we see somebody for dental care. It's not just one appointment on average, I think people will have about four or five sessions within their treatment plan. "We've already got a good 35 people lined up as of today and we've not even started yet." Short said the clinic was not a silver bullet to tackle the country's dental issues, but it was a start. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Auckland City Mission delivers free dental care
health national 24 minutes ago Nearly half of Kiwi adults say they're skipping going to the dentist because they can't afford it. Research has shown that's costing the country billions of dollars a year in lost productivity and quality of life with constant pain, serious infections and hospital admissions. Today Auckland City Mission opened the doors of its new onsite dental clinic to deliver lifechanging dental care for those that need it most, free of charge. Louise Ternouth reports.
RNZ News
03-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Is it better to give someone who's homeless cash or food if they ask for help?
"I think many of the people on the street feel rejected, feel outsiders, that they're being looked down on." Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin People working in top jobs at charities responding to poverty say the choice of giving food or money to those asking for help is tough and they often feel conflicted. Many communities are seeing a spike in homelessness, with a steady rise in the number of people living in cars, parks or on the streets. That included Auckland, where there were more than 650 living rough on the streets according to the last count in January, and outreach workers expected that to rise over winter. Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson said giving is a personal decision. "For some people giving money is okay for some it isn't, for some it is giving money to an organisation, for some it's shouting someone a feed or offering to buy someone a pie or a drink while they're in the shop," she said. "For others it's really striking up that conversation and encouraging them to access services like the mission." Robinson said she often feels conflicted about what to give. "There are times when I have given them money and there are times when I haven't, which is ironic for me as the Auckland City Missioner that I say both of those things," she said. "I'm just conscious that sometimes $5 is the difference between someone having some food. It's a tangible expression of I actually genuinely care for what's going on for you in this moment." Hustling or begging at traffic lights was against the law and she urged people to consider theirs and others' safety in such situations. Robinson said a human response was needed and it's important not to ignore those living rough - she encouraged compassion. Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge agreed. "I have a belief that the best possible thing we can do is greet them as you would anybody else, so say hello, make eye contact, engage with them, ask them how their day is," he said. "I've been doing that for a number of years because I heard directly from one of them that one of the biggest challenges they faced is that people wouldn't make eye contact." Edridge said he takes that approach and prefers to buy someone lunch or something they need rather than give cash. He said the mission is seeing a rare level of poverty in its 120 year history. "We're facing some huge social issues and my encouragement to government, to decision makers, to policy setters, to local councils and to leaders in our community is that we need to pay attention to this because if we don't then we all lose." Edridge has been the city missioner for seven years and said he felt privileged to be in a position to help others. "There's no downside to helping people get on and have an improved life, in fact the benefit that accrues to each one of us is huge." Ian Hutson works as a mission officer for the Salvation Army and said the question of what to give people on the street is not straight-forward. "In my case I often don't give but refer to agencies that can help but occasion you get the feel that it's fine to give." He said people need to feel part of society, regardless of their circumstances. "People are often somewhat frightened or fearful of people on the street and sometimes I think a certain amount of engaging and acknowledging them but without necessarily giving anything is at least one thing," Hutson said. "I think many of the people on the street feel rejected, feel outsiders, that they're being looked down on." He said individuals, groups and churches all need to help those in need. The missioners and Hutson said people experiencing homelessness should not be blamed for their circumstances, which often include challenges such as addiction or illness. Robinson is urging people to write to their local MP. "Contact your local representative and say to them that enough affordable housing is really important to you as a citizen, to use your power to communicate to our politicians how important it is to you because your view then enables them to shape their view." She said a lack of affordable housing is driving up homelessness and that needs to change.
