Addressing homelessness in our city

Phil Goff from Phil Goff

Just four months into Auckland's Housing First project we have housed 150 homeless people including 57 children. It's a great start but the challenge of growing homelessness is huge.

Housing First is a joint initiative of NGOs, Council and central government. It works on the principle that we can't solve the problems of people while they are on the streets.

We need first to provide them with stable, permanent healthy homes and then build wrap around social services to deal with the problems which caused them to be homeless. That means tackling problems like mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction and relationship breakdowns.

As elsewhere, this approach is working in Auckland with most people staying in the homes we have helped them into.

At a wider level we are working through the Mayoral Housing Task Force recommendations to try to build housing at a rate that matches demand. That will help contain house price inflation which creates affordability and homelessness.