More and more youth in the Bay of Plenty are winding up homeless. Photo / Getty Images
The number of young people sleeping in parks and reserves, couch surfing and in emergency housing is on the rise in the Bay of Plenty, social agencies say.
The reasons vary, from trauma to their family becoming homeless as a casualty of the housing crisis and the pandemic, and those at the coalface expect it to get worse.
They say permanent accommodation specifically for young people and wrap-around services are needed.
A Ministry of Housing and Urban Development report says 51 per cent of all the homeless in the country are under 25, which includes unaccompanied minors and young people whose families are homeless.
A spokeswoman said the ministry was aware that accessing "safe and stable accommodation is a key challenge" for young people who were vulnerable to the severe economic impacts of Covid-19 and were included in those housed in motels as part of the Covid response.
Funding had been extended to keep the vulnerable in motels until the end of March 2021 if needed, she said.
Due to the impacts of the pandemic, they were now focused on developing responses for young people.
The ministry could not provide specific figures for the number of homeless under the age of 25 in the Bay of Plenty but social agencies in the region say the number is growing.
Visions of a Helping Hand found Tiny Deane said there has been a rise in the number of young homeless in Rotorua, some as young as 14, seeking a place to stay.
"The ones we see aren't riddled with drug and alcohol abuse, they're riddled with sorrow and not being treated right by whānau. They have nowhere else to go."
Deane said young people needed to be at least 16 before Visions could help them.
"It's sad when we can't [help]."
He said he was being inundated with families with nowhere to go, many of them with children.
Deane wanted to see schemes and programmes developed to get families out of homelessness, such as rent-to-buy.
"There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel for our people."
In Rotorua, young people staying in parks, reserves, and couch surfing was common, and many were homeless in emergency housing, said Haehaetu Barrett, Lifewise regional manager for Rotorua and Bay of Plenty.
This was pre- and post-Covid lockdown.
The number of people aged between 18 and 23 needing support for housing, mental health, addictions, and poverty was rising.
Despite the demand, there was no dedicated safe accommodation for youth to stay while waiting for permanent housing, Barrett said.
Trauma, and not wanting to be in the place where trauma had been caused, drug and alcohol use, and disconnection from whanau were reasons youth ended up on the streets.
"This issue is not fixed by emergency housing."
A collective approach guiding youth into permanent housing was needed, along with strong wrap-around support, Barrett said.
However, there were also some who looked at motel life as "free and easy", which stopped them from working towards permanent housing.
Barrett said Lifewise was in consultation with young people sleeping rough and they planned to deliver in the Youth Housing First space "in the near future".
Tauranga Salvation Army community ministries manager Davina Plummer predicted the growing number of families with children becoming homeless would rise with fewer motels available in summer.
"People [are] feeling an increasing sense of hopelessness about their housing situation ... children are often involved."
Many families had continually applied for houses but were declined due to the demand.
"We know of a couple of families who are sleeping in a tent in Memorial Park, sending some of their children to live with others until they can find safe, suitable accommodation."
Some families are having to move into boarding houses, or unhealthy situations living with whānau.
"Boarding houses do not meet the same regulations as housing run by community housing providers such as The Salvation Army. There are a range of people who live in them."
Bay of Plenty District prevention manager Inspector Steve Bullock said homelessness became more visible in summer and saw more young people around this time.
Te Tuinga Whānau Support Services executive director Tommy Wilson said now that school was finished, more "at-risk youths" were congregating around the city.
Many of them came from "rough" backgrounds, which included homes filled with violence, drugs, alcohol, and poverty.
Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley was concerned that the first reaction was to put homeless youth in motels, rather than focus on the root cause.
"What you're really doing is splitting families up ... if there's a problem in the family, rebuild the family. Don't move these kids away from their whānau."
For those who were "genuinely" homeless, the reasons were mainly around sexual abuse, followed by physical abuse and addiction issues.
Like mental health and addiction problems, he said homelessness was complex and a symptom and unemployment was another layer to this.
This was why wrap-around services getting to the root cause was crucial.
"If you're homeless because you're grumpy with your parents, it's quite different - you resolve that issue and you're not homeless.
"If you're homeless because you have mental health issues, then let's connect you with the DHB."
An Oranga Tamariki spokeswoman said coming from an environment involving poverty, alcohol or drugs, neglect or abuse were general reasons youth were homeless.
"Our role is to keep children and young people safe ... If we heard a young person was living rough, we would meet with them, talk to them and do an assessment."
Ministry of Social Development housing general manager Karen Hocking said emergency housing was available for youth, managed through their Youth Service.
A youth coach works with those in urgent need of accommodation, first working through a range of housing options.
This included staying with extended family or friends, helping those behind on rent, bond and rent for a new property, moving costs, and negotiating with landlords.
If none are suitable options, they help with emergency accommodation.
While a young person is in emergency housing the coach works with them to find longer-term housing, including public housing.
Currently, 219 young people in the Bay of Plenty are receiving the Ministry of Social Development's Youth Payment for people aged 16 or 17.
It's for those who can't live with their parents or guardian and aren't supported by anyone else. Singles can get $213.10 per week while couples $200 each.
How the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is tackling the problem
The Ministry of Housing's Urban Development Youth Employment Action Plan includes expanding supported accommodation for young people leaving Oranga Tamariki care.
This plan and the Youth Plan and Homelessness Action Plan are used to provide the help young people need, including housing.
There are a number of young people whose situations need immediate action through MSD's Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants.
This helps with the costs of staying in short-term accommodation, usually a motel, when a transitional house or rental isn't available.
A spokeswoman said they were working with other organisations to find gaps in services already in place and build on them, like Sustaining Tenancies and Housing First.
In Budget 2019, the Government committed $153.7 million to establish a new transition support service to support young people leaving statutory care or a youth justice residence.
HUD, MSD, Kāinga Ora and Oranga Tamariki officials are working together to find more initiatives to meet young people's housing needs, she said.
They would release a public update and progress report early next year on their findings on the state, driving forces and pressures that lead to homelessness.
Shane Edwards went missing on May 14, 2022. His remains were recently found.