A lack of housing options and support for thousands of young people leaving state care has been labelled “critical” by the ministry responsible.
Oranga Tamariki commissioned an in-depth assessment of housing conditions for young people moving to independence and is now awaiting feedback from other agencies on how to address the problems.
It says there are currently around 5,200 young people eligible for Transition Support Services, but the ministry admits it only has 134 supported accommodation placements.
As a result 1 in 10 young people are said to be living in “unstable accommodation” such as a car or garage.
Albet Lockie says as a former young person in care finding accommodation was difficult.
“You don't have people to vouch for you, you don't have a bond, you're young, age discrimination, there's racial discrimination, there's background discrimination because I mean a lot of care experienced kids might have a YJ record like...it's very hard,” Lockie said.
The 19-year-old only managed to find their current apartment in March this year located in central Auckland.
“I like not having people able to control what I do and control how my routine runs. I can really have that autonomy and when I need support I can bring in that support.”
Aaron Hendry is the Youth Housing Service Leader at Lifewise who help support young people transitioning to independence from care.
“We average you know between every week somewhere between 50-70 young people have reached out for our support who are in need of housing. We're turning people away every single day,” he said.
No one from Oranga Tamariki nor the Minister Kelvin Davis were available for an interview this week but the agency told 1News they plan to add an extra 21 accommodation placements by June 2023.
“It's nowhere near enough, it's a drop in the ocean you know,” Hendry said.
Albet Lockie agreed and said more support was needed including new ways of doing things.
“Why are they failing so much to set-up young people for success?” they said.
National Leader Christopher Luxon said the additional accommodation placements weren’t good enough.
“It's a real tragedy because we've got young people coming out of Oranga Tamariki care and that's a pathway to homelessness and to jail without having supported living arrangements in place for them,” Luxon said.
Transition support is available for 18- to 21-year-olds leaving care.
While many find accommodation themselves, many others have multiple and high needs.
This meant the adult housing system was not suitable for a lot of young people.
In a statement Kelvin Davis said undertaking the assessment highlighted the importance of the issue to Oranga Tamariki.
“Prioritising housing services for young people moving to independence from care and youth justice settings was an in depth review of the options for accommodation available for young people exiting Oranga Tamariki care.
"It highlights gaps in the national provision of Transition Support Services, and enables Oranga Tamariki to see where it can work with housing agencies to support these young peoples’ accommodation needs as part of the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan.”
Relevant agencies are expected to report back in November setting out how they will respond to the findings and ensure “real improvements to housing outcomes for young people”.
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