Intensive support for people in emergency housing | Annual Report 2019/20
It’s hard for people and whānau to maintain wellbeing, access services or find a home when they’re living for long periods in motels or other emergency housing.
As part of the Homelessness Action Plan, MSD introduced integrated services case managers (ISCM), a single point of contact, and contracted NGO navigators to provide intensive support to whānau with children and other at-risk clients in emergency housing.
Individual support from experienced, caring professionals can be the best way for people to get the help they need.
In the Bay of Plenty, the support invested by Rawiri, a navigator from WERA Aotearoa Charitable Trust, was the turning point for one client. After being in emergency housing for nearly a year, the client’s mental health and confidence deteriorated and it had become hard for him to engage with the support he needed.
Rawiri spent a lot of time regaining the client’s trust and reconnecting him with support services. When the Salvation Army off ered transitional housing, Rawiri helped the client to overcome his anxieties.
The client was reassured and began making plans for a vegetable garden and getting a job. WERA and the Salvation Army have kept working together to support the client.
Supporting people into long-term places to live
On 7 August 2020:
- 1,065 emergency housing households involved with an ISCM
- 502 emergency housing households involved with a navigator
Rawiri says, "We had a good three-hour conversation and visited the property."
