Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The Dunedin City Council will ask for expressions of interest to set up a housing outreach service in a bid to help address a growing homelessness crisis
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The council was originally discussing setting up an in-house service immediately for $270,000, but a new motion opted to ask for proposals from community providers and report back to council with the options instead.
The vote narrowly passed by eight votes against seven.
A report tabled at Thursday’s council meeting said homelessness and housing insecurity were rising among Dunedin’s young people, and the city’s transition home was under increasing pressure with a long and growing waiting list.
During the debate, different councillors flagged the horror stories they knew about in the city – mothers living in cars with babies, tents set up in parks and reserves, and a family of seven sleeping in two cars.
Councillor Andrew Simms put forward the new motion, saying it was clear the elected members all believed that council had a role to play in addressing homelessness in the city, the debate was around how to achieve that.
His motion was not shutting the door on an in-house outreach service, but sought to hear from trusted and established providers about what they could do before they examined all of the proposals, he said.
He believed there could be more cost effective ways of creating an outreach service than the proposed $270,000 in-house service that included two full time equivalent staff and a moderate operating budget.
The passed motion allows the chief executive to develop the terms for service including an initial three year service starting in April, performance measures and community outcomes, and annual reporting, before staff ask for expressions of interest to deliver the service.
Councillor Marie Laufiso did not support the motion, instead foreshadowing that she would support setting up a council-led housing outreach service immediately.
This service needed to be built yesterday and it was frustrating that they had not been able to give staff the resources they needed to set one up, she said.
Councillor Christine Garey said the message from the community on the frontline was they were looking to the council for leadership.
She called for a bold, courageous decision, saying they needed to put their money with their mouth was and should go with an in house model.
Councillor Russell Lund, who supported the motion, said it was naive to think that the council could provide the same kind of service that established organisations offered in such a short timeframe.
Councillor Lee Vandervis also backed the motion, saying it potentially gave them the best of both worlds by ensuring those with expertise were involved, allowing for local sponsors and had the potential to get up and running quicker.
Councillor Jules Radich called the proposal “practical”.
Councillor Brent Weatherall said he believed the problem was out of control and existing outreach services were the most cost effective option.
Councillor Mandy Mayhem, who voted against the motion, said they needed urgent and immediate action.
Councillor Steve Walker said it was clear they wanted a solution, but they were getting bogged down on how to get there.
He backed setting up an in house model before considering possible transitions further down the track.
Mayor Sophie Barker supported the plan to explore different proposals, saying they needed to make the right decision rather than a fast one.
In the original proposal, the council said the new service would connect people to the appropriate support service, help them use the services, respond to people at high risk of harm and work with emergency services to de-escalate situations.
During the public forum, Aaron Hawkins from the Otago Housing Alliance told the council that more public housing was needed in the long term, but right now more support was needed for people experiencing homelessness.
“There’s no outcome of any review that won’t tell us that this outreach service is needed and needed urgently in our city,” he said.
The government had acknowledged that the need existed, but they had not gone far enough, he said.
The report said the Ministry of Social Development had recently funded Catholic Social Services to support people experiencing homelessness and help to link them to the Ministry’s services.
That initiative was expected to run for up to one financial year.
The Alliance surveyed council candidates ahead of the election with the overwhelming majority stating they believed the council had a role to play in addressing homelessness in the city, he said.
“This is the first opportunity you have as elected members to make a meaningful contribution to that work.”
He would love for central government to see this as a core part of its responsibilities and resource it adequately.
“But they don’t and we can’t wait for government to come and save us, we need to be in control of our own destiny.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand