Housing NZ refers homeless to CAB for emergency housing

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 24th, 2015 - 28 comments
Categories: housing - Tags: ,

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Citizens Advice Bureaux have a proud history of giving advice and assistance to people.  The first CAB was opened in Ponsonby in 1970.  Since then many different offices have been opened and hundreds of thousands of people have been helped.

One thing they do not give help with is providing social housing.  But this Government seems to think that they should.  Because as reported on Radio New Zealand this morning desperate families have been referred to them by Housing New Zealand.

CAB chief executive Kerry Dalton reported that this year over 3,000 enquiries about emergency housing had been received, compared to 1,500 five years ago.  From the article:

We’re seeing people who have been to Work and Income, Housing New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development seeking assistance.

“Sometimes they’re the highest priority on the social housing register, which means that they’re assessed as needing a house now but they have been referred to us without being helped into alternative accommodation while they’re waiting,” she said.

She was hopeful the government would step up and intervene.

“I really believe that if there’s a will this can be addressed tomorrow.

“It’s a matter of the Ministry of Social Development and the government committing to making sure that when people come to them…they can get alternative accommodation, because the emergency accommodation just isn’t there.”

The solution is simple, the state needs to provide more social housing.  And it needs to understand why the numbers of homelessness are growing.

28 comments on “Housing NZ refers homeless to CAB for emergency housing ”

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  1. Al66 1
    24 November 2015 at 2:29 pm

    This government doesn’t know and doesn’t care

  2. greywarshark 2
    24 November 2015 at 2:46 pm

    The necrotising fasciitis that afflicts New Zealand.
    New Zealand, a good place to bring up children.
    New Zealand, a good place to bring up.
    New Zealand, a good place to bring..
    New Zealand, a good place to…
    New Zealand, a good place.
    New Zealand, a good….
    New Zealand, a…………
    New Zealand.

  3. David Scott 3
    24 November 2015 at 2:56 pm

    Hey John, why not just round all us poor people up and move us into ghettos. Oh wait, that would be giving us housing which is a privilege only for people with money.

    Hmmm, okay, just round us up and gas us because you won’t get rid of us any other way.

    • greywarshark 3.1
      24 November 2015 at 3:02 pm

      I found out an effective way of killing off chronic drunks. Read it in a crime story.
      But I won’t say what it was because the way things are, somebody might just utilise the method.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2
      24 November 2015 at 3:43 pm

      But, but, but, who will drag wages down then?

      I don’t think your policy of exterminating the low paid will work, Dave. Exterminating low pay, on the other hand… 😈

  5. Draco T Bastard 5
    24 November 2015 at 3:18 pm

    The solution is simple, the state needs to provide more social housing. And it needs to understand why the numbers of homelessness are growing.

    Of course it’s simple and the government knows why there’s homeless people. They won’t do anything about it though as homelessness and poverty are a way for the government to punish people for being different than them. It also helps to increase profits as wages can be kept down.

    • greywarshark 5.1
      24 November 2015 at 3:29 pm

      Inequality good for free market! Makes the proles work harder – way into the night and rise early like all working people in NZ should. The others are wealth creators so they can keep normal hours.

  6. Mike the Savage One 6
    24 November 2015 at 4:21 pm

    CAB have for years also been advising many ordinary beneficiaries, as many advocacy services have suffered budget cuts, some had to close and others are stretched beyond their humble resources. Also have some CABs connected people with services offering food parcels.

    So now they are also expected to help homeless and those in need of affordable housing? This is all intentional, the government is hell bent on creating “welfare” the US American style, forcing more into seeking support from NGO and volunteer groups, as it simply does not care and has rather a strong focus on saving costs.

    But as most out there are “strugglers” and have little sympathy these days, nobody will bother doing much about this. Divide and rule is the motto, and it is getting worse by the day.

  7. millsy 7
    24 November 2015 at 4:24 pm

    According to FB more and more families are being put up in motel rooms by WINZ via benefit advances (ie they have to pay WINZ back). This has led to some families owing up to $4000.

    A win win situation – the government doesnt have to pay a cent (technially) and National-voting motel owners get some government cash during a slow pre-season.

  8. Mike the Savage One 8
    24 November 2015 at 4:30 pm

    Also on Radio NZ National’s Midday News today, a mother complained about how her daughter with intellectual impairment and thus a disability, dependent on a benefit, had her benefit cut when being on a family holiday (listen to the audio from 2 minutes and 55 seconds into the news broadcast – onwards):

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/201780015/midday-news-for-24-november-2015

    WINZ trust nobody, and that is what this government wanted to achieve with the welfare reforms it brought in mid July 2013.

  9. Tiger Mountain 9
    24 November 2015 at 5:46 pm

    the Nats want it all ways–a reserve army of unemployed to put downward pressure on wages but straight out refuses to help support them, yet middle class (WFF) and corporate welfare is fine

    “catch 22” is a rarely used saying these days but WINZ is an apt example of one–WINZ staff are rewarded for NOT assisting the citizens who seek their support by denying or not informing of entitlements

    we need rent control and a massive house building programme in this country

  10. Freemark 10
    24 November 2015 at 6:38 pm

    Housing New Zealand should refer them to The Standard and her caring members instead.
    That would fix it.

    • sabine 10.1
      24 November 2015 at 7:20 pm

      No Housing New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development should do their jobs, and that is starting from Top down to bottom. If they can’t be bothered they should get fired.
      And we the tax payer should get a refund of our Taxes, as clearly Housing New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development from the top to the bottom are not doing their job, thus the government could just simply do away with them altogether.

  11. linda 11
    24 November 2015 at 7:00 pm

    no no no the flag ,the flag ,the flag

    if they want help they must vote only the ballot box will remove this fucked up government

  12. johnm 12
    24 November 2015 at 7:18 pm

    This government is turning NZ into a U$ style nightmare. They don’t care: they’re fucking crazy rubbish with no contact with ordinary kiwis. Key fucks around as if he’s some little godlette. Shame on the stupid selfish money grubbing shits who voted this shit scum in. A social conscience is another universe way from Key.

  13. Gael 13
    24 November 2015 at 9:13 pm

    Meantime announcement that $200m being spent on increasing trade with who now in asia?

    Gee what if $200m was invested in looking after our own first… in social housing? Resulting in maybe more apprenticeships – youth employment, more forests planted to supply the wood – good for climate, more resources and classrooms for schools and god forbid more public servants social worker types in housing nz, cyfs, winz, instead of overpaid consultants but no…. it’ll be more poor dairy cows on canty plains in 35 degrees with no shelter or better still orivida exporting live cows to live in the stubble of the palm oil plantations.

    or am i too cynical?

  14. Gael 14
    24 November 2015 at 9:19 pm

    Meantime announcement that $200m being spent on increasing trade with who now in asia?

    Gee what if $200m was invested in looking after our own first… in social housing? Resulting in maybe more carpenter and plumbers apprenticeships – youth employment, more forests planted to supply the wood – good for climate, more resources and classrooms for schools and god forbid more public servant types in housing nz, cyfs, winz, minof education instead of overpaid consultants but no…. it’ll be more poor dairy cows on canty plains in 35 degrees with no shelter or better still orivida live exporting sheep and cows to live in the stubble of the palm oil plantations.

    or am i too cynical?

    • Henry Filth 14.1
      25 November 2015 at 6:26 am

      Probably not cynical enough.

      But some good imaginings, which would be useful in the real world. Sadly, this is 21st century New Zealand.

  15. Tautuhi 15
    24 November 2015 at 9:36 pm

    Obviously his Austro-Hungarian Jewish roots are coming to the fore?

  16. Philj 16
    25 November 2015 at 6:00 am

    Gael
    The figure for ASEAN support was MORE THAN $200M. Didn’t say how much, just more than… This reflects badly on on a losing horse of a government.

  17. Penny Bright 17
    25 November 2015 at 10:37 am

    The State needs to provide more STATE housing.

    State housing is PUBLIC.

    Social housing is PRIVATE.

    There is a huge privatisation agenda, in my view, happening behind the scenes, for (private) corporate NGOs to take over STATE housing, via ‘social housing’.

    Blurring the language – by using the term ‘social’ housing, to effectively cover everything, in my view, is helping to confuse and mislead people.

    Penny Bright

  18. Treetop 18
    27 November 2015 at 10:05 am

    There is something sinister going on with the management of state housing. The government has just finished repairing 5,000 state homes damaged by the Christchurch earthquakes and the government cannot manage to increase the state housing stock or acquire dwellings for their social housing experiment.

    The government recieved an insurance payout for the earthquake repairs, they need to find money for urgent housing. How despicable that a pregnant women, cannot be assisted into urgent housing by the government (there is a risk of having a small for date baby) and children living rough can develope anxiety, as well education can be disrupted.