Homelessness is a growing reality for many in Hastings District, a new study shows. Photo / NZME
Homelessness is a growing reality for many in Hastings District, a new study shows. Photo / NZME
Hastings may have been named the most beautiful large town in New Zealand, but homelessness is a growing and ugly reality, a new council study shows.
The town has one of the highest rates of housing deprivation in New Zealand, with 4.6 per cent of the population in emergency housing,including people who are living in the open – eating, sleeping and staying in public spaces.
The Hastings District Council commissioned a study looking at the district's homeless population as part of its Kāinga Paneke, Kāinga Pānuku – Hastings Medium and Long Term Housing Strategy, which builds on the Hastings Place-Based Housing Plan created in 2019.
The study aimed to provide insight into the characteristics, needs and causes of homelessness in Hastings, and identify initiatives that could be taken to improve the lives of those without a permanent roof over their heads.
It found there were anywhere between 30 to 50 people reported in Hastings CBD on a daily basis, many of them Māori males.
A recent study commissioned by Hastings District council found there were anywhere between 30 to 50 people on the streets of the CBD. Photo / NZME
More than a thousand residents were identified as being severely housing deprived in the 2018 census survey, many without fixed abodes through being in emergency housing.
It's not just confined to the city centre, though, with council parks, security teams and recreational services also reporting an increase in people sleeping in cars at rural parks and reserves across the district.
Many also faced additional challenges relating to employment, mental health, family issues or addiction.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said this was an important step in trying to bring the different agencies together to work collectively to improve the lives of those who live with the insecurity of not having a safe, stable home.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says a new study looking at the district's homeless population was an important first step. Photo / NZME
"We have some fantastic agencies who are already working with our people to offer them support, and this study gives us important, useful information we can all use to try and find more comprehensive and cohesive practical solutions."
Councillors approved a number of actions to follow up, relating to the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan strategic framework, at its meeting on Tuesday.
These included forming a regional task force with iwi partners, the homeless and regional and local agencies.
Work will continue through the Hastings Place-Based Housing Plan to identify social and community housing opportunities and research would be undertaken with homeless people themselves to understand their situation and challenges.
The development and feasibility of an integrated community hub for homeless people that provide wraparound support services, possibly including overnight accommodation, would also be investigated.
