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Western Leader : May 18th 2012
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www.aucklandnow.co.nz Friday, May 18, 2012 Tough times for families Help needed: Henderson Salvation Army operations manager Rhondda Middleton says there is a growing need for food parcels in West Auckland. Photo: VANITA PRASAD By VANITA PRASAD KEY FACTS THE housing shortage in West Auckland is the worst Melvin Reihana has seen in eight years with a surge of working families desperately needing food and shel- ter. It s not just beneficiaries any more -- there s a huge influx of working families coming in, he says. The Henderson Salvation Army social worker helps people find accommodation and says Housing New Zealand doesn t have enough to keep up with demand. All refuges are full too. Even the new men s refuge is full and that s only been open in the last 12 months, he says. In April, there were 700 applicants on Housing New Zealand s waiting lists at the New Lynn and Henderson branches. There s now 820. Housing New Zealand plans to buy a 15-unit housing development being built on the corner of Henderson s Buscomb Ave and Sel- wyn Peacock Dr but spokeswoman Marie Winfield says there are no other new housing projects planned for West Auckland. We are looking at the future state housing requirements in the area and exploring further acqui- sition options. Western Refuge chief executive Michelle Clayton says the demand for housing has been noticeable. We have people coming to us because they re desperate for hous- ing. Unfortunately our refuge is for women fleeing violent situations with urgent safety concerns, she says. Lots of people are raising chil- dren on couches and living in cars. It s really bad. Henderson Salvation Army operations manager Rhondda Middleton says many of its clients are being put into housing they can t afford. WINZ aren t supposed to put people into housing that is more than 50 per cent of their benefit, she says. But they re putting people in places that cost 75 per cent of their benefit and aren t sustainable in the long run because otherwise they re on the street. There s hope for abused children and women and sometimes in a way we hope that people say they are fleeing because at least we can get them help. It s a landlord s market out there and it s driving people on to the streets. Mr Reihana has met families try- ing to leave South Auckland in search of a safer neighbourhood but the average three-bedroom house for rent in Ranui, one of West Auckland s cheapest suburbs, is $362 a week. He says when people can t be accommodated by Housing New Zealand they have to turn to their families for shelter. We ve got no other choice but to help them build up their relation- ships with their families and that s got about a 60 per cent hit rate. Demand on the Salvation Army s foodbank is also high. Friday is our busiest day usually and we get an average of 12 to 15 people coming through but on April 27 we had 43 interviews. Social Development Ministry Auckland commissioner Isabel Evans says help is available to people regardless of whether they re receiving a benefit if they can show they are below the income threshold and have limited assets. Clients could be entitled to extra assistance such as special needs grants or advance of benefit to meet pressing essential living costs if they are in hardship. Mrs Evans says if people still need help and can t reduce their costs they may be eligible for tem- porary additional support, deter- mined on a case by case basis. 700 applicants were on Housing New Zealand's waiting lists in April. There's now 820 Rent in Ranui, one of West Auckland's cheapest suburbs, is an average of $362 a week for a three-bedroom home. The Salvation Army had 43 people looking for food parcels on one day last month.
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