THE HIDDEN HOMELESS
The number of people facing homelessness in New Zealand is at an all-time high. MiNDFOOD looks at the disturbing reasons behind this trend.
The number of New Zealanders facing homelessness is at an all-time high. We examine the reasons behind this trend.
Alice Claire* had a tiny window of opportunity. Moving quickly, she grabbed a couple of blankets and toys – then, with her heart hammering, she strapped her pre-schoolers into their car seats, and fled the family home.
The abuse had been going on for a decade. But while she was desperate to get away, Alice had been trapped both financially and emotionally. Her violent partner had worn down her self-esteem and cut her off from friends and family.
Behind the wheel of her car, Alice took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She had managed to walk out – but she had nowhere to go. Alice and her children were homeless.
Tragically, Alice’s situation is far from uncommon. In 2015, a study conducted by Yale University discovered that New Zealand had the highest rate of homelessness among the 35 high-income OECD countries, with almost one per cent of citizens living without a permanent address. Four years later, experts say that the situation is likely to be even worse.
They also emphasise that homelessness doesn’t always have to mean living on the streets. In fact, the proportion of homeless people who are sleeping rough on a regular basis is relatively small. The rest are sleeping on friends’ couches, in their cars, and packed into overcrowded temporary accommodation.
Kylie Travers, 35, has also experienced homelessness first-hand. In 2009, Kylie, along with her two young daughters, fled their family home when the domestic violence she had endured for years began to escalate.
With nowhere else to go, Kylie turned to a friend who had space in her four-car garage. “One section had been converted to a small room, so we slept in there. I had a double bed, a cot, a small desk … and kept my clothes in a plastic tub,” she recalls. Kylie and her daughters, aged two and 10 months at the time, had access to the bathroom and kitchen in the main house. At the time, she didn’t see herself as homeless.
“I’d always viewed homelessness as people living on the streets. Because I had somewhere to go each night, with a roof and a bed, I didn’t know we were homeless,” she says.
The link between domestic violence and the rise in the number of women experiencing homelessness has disturbed many charities. “There are so many women in this horrific situation,” says Rochelle Courtenay, founder of women’s charity Share the Dignity. Courtenay notes that women and girls of all ages can be impacted.
“There are so many homeless girls and young women that we talk to – and many of them start with a story of family violence or sexual abuse,” she says.
Courtenay gives an example. “Rachel and her sister Violet were 16 and 15 when they fled their home. Their mother had re-partnered and was living in [a situation of domestic violence]. It wasn’t safe for the girls, so they chose to couch surf and sleep in cars,” she says.
Positive outcomes in these circumstances are rare. “[Girls in these situations] often end up drug addicted, in bad relationships, and are in and out of correctional services all their lives,” says Courtenay. “It becomes a desperate cycle that is impossible to break.”
THE STARK REALITY
Alice was lucky – after reporting to homelessness services, she was able to receive help. But before she was offered a place in a secure women’s shelter, Alice and her children spent a terrifying night sleeping in the car.
“It’s a night I will never forget,” she says. “The children were cold and they kept asking me when we could go home. I tried to make it seem like a fun adventure, but of course I was scared. I spent the whole night expecting [her ex-husband] to turn up.”
The Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust (WHWT) is just one of the many charities working on the front line of the homelessness crisis. The facility, which has five bedrooms, offers women accommodation and cooking and laundry facilities, as well as access to vital medical services.
The WHWT also provides its tenants with skills development and support in creating a plan to get back on their feet. Women can stay for up to three months. House manager Paula Lloyd explains that the main aim of the programme is to provide a safe environment so that tenants can rebuild their lives.
Support comes in the form of a three-month programme that includes personal development, goal setting and life coaching. On top of this, the staff at the WHWT are trained to advocate for tenants. Lloyd notes that this can sometimes be as simple as helping the women interpret complex social services information.
While the New Zealand housing crisis has had a massive impact on homelessness, Lloyd says that domestic violence is also playing an undeniable role – especially when it comes to women. “The common trends that we see coming through our service are violence and poverty,” she says.
A GENDERED ISSUE
There are other gender-specific factors that cause women to become homeless. Lloyd explains that when relationships break down, women who have spent considerable time at home bringing up their children suddenly find themselves with no savings, and without access to an income. For these women, private rental properties are out of reach.
“We take referrals from Women’s Refuge and Māori Woman’s Refuge (Te Whare Rokiroki). In some cases tenancies have been under the man’s name, separation has left the woman homeless, or the women need to flee that area. Sometimes they are fleeing their region and coming to Wellington to start again,” Lloyd says.
In addition to this, Lloyd says some women do not have a robust whānau or community they can rely on. “They may be coming out of prison without any support,” Lloyd explains. “They may have suffered a lifetime of abuse from childhood to current and therefore have trust issues and trauma and poor decision making.”
Another variable likely to make older women particularly vulnerable to homelessness is going into retirement without assets or adequate funds in superannuation. According to the ANZ bank, the average woman retiring in 2017 would have had $80,000 less in her KiwiSaver account than if she were male, and the gap is actually growing – in 2015 it was $60,000.
There are many complex reasons why this discrepancy arises, but one of the big factors is that women bear the brunt of caring responsibilities. In doing so, they sacrifice valuable time that would otherwise be spent in the paid economy, earning an income – and therefore super.
“Women are far more exposed to violent acts and rape when they’re homeless.”
Homelessness is a difficult situation for anyone to experience, but in many ways it is even harder for women than it is for men. One big issue is period poverty. “For most women, getting your period is a slight inconvenience,” Courtenay says. “For homeless women, it’s a major problem. There’s no shower, no laundry and no money for sanitary items. They make pads from socks and old towels – it’s unhygienic.”
She also notes that it’s difficult for women to ask for help. “Periods are the last thing that anyone wants to ask for help with. There’s no dignity in it.”
Of course, periods are not the only issue that homeless women face. They are also much more vulnerable than homeless men. “Safety is a big problem,” says Courtenay. “Women are far more exposed to violent acts and rape when they’re homeless, which is terrifying.”
Courtenay adds that some women go to extreme lengths to try to protect themselves. “One woman I met told me she sleeps in the garbage bin [outside a shopping centre]. She knew that it only ever had cardboard in it and when it got emptied.”
In May this year, the government announced a major funding boost to tackle homelessness. The Housing First initiative will receive $197 million from the 2019 budget. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern informed reporters that it’s the largest government investment ever in addressing homelessness.
“Housing First is all about breaking the cycle. It recognises that most long-term homeless people have a number of complex problems such as mental health issues and addictions – and that they have a much higher chance of addressing them once they are housed,” Ardern said.
TACKLING THE ISSUE
On top of new social housing, Lloyd believes that New Zealand could meet some of our housing needs by being a little more creative about solutions. “There are many single women that would benefit from communal living, which would be a more financially viable option for many,” she says.
Another step to addressing homelessness, according to Lloyd, would be to make some significant changes within the Department of Corrections. She explains, “Women are still leaving incarceration without ID, bank accounts, accommodation, a GP – and without their mental health being assessed and addressed. This leaves them extremely vulnerable and open to re-offending.”
Although the WHWT can only offer support to a small number of women at a time, the women who do complete the programme have a good chance of getting back on their feet. “We do everything we can to equip each individual with the skills and opportunity needed to move into long-term housing, while maintaining a positive and sustainable lifestyle,” says Lloyd. “We’re dedicated to making a difference.”
And to women like Alice, that kind of support is invaluable. While these days Alice and her children have a roof over their heads, she will always be grateful to the women’s shelter that gave her a safe place to stay while she rebuilt her life. “I’ll never forget the relief I felt when I got that call [to offer her the place]. They gave me clothes and toiletries, and toys for the children,” says Alice. “Most of all, they gave us safety.”