July Update from DCM - together we can end homelessness

• 28 Jul 2021
• Downtown Community Ministry
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line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .headerContainer .mcnTextContent,.headerContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:16px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .bodyContainer .mcnTextContent,.bodyContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:16px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .footerContainer .mcnTextContent,.footerContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:14px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } "DCM helped me get into a house, and they are helping me to stay in the house." Happy Matariki This month we have been celebrating Matariki, the Māori New Year, at DCM. This is a time to reflect on the past, celebrate the present and plan for the future. We came together for our Matariki Seasonal Kai, an opportunity for kaimahi to connect with taumai* during the cold days of winter, and to enjoy a very special hangi. Taumai wrote some beautiful reflections in a book that we gifted to the Tristram whānau, who make this meal possible. Smurf shared his poem: You may remember Smurf from our recent film clip; he first connected with DCM when he was rough sleeping in 2014. He has seen a dentist, audiologist and physiotherapist at DCM, regularly attended Te Hāpai and worked with Te Aro Health around his health needs. In 2020 he was housed by our Aro Mai Housing First team. We're very proud of the progress he has made on his journey to wellbeing. As he himself reflects, "DCM helped me get into a house, and they are helping me to stay in the house. I don't think I would have got healthy if I wasn't housed." <!-- --> How can New Zealand solve its social housing crisis? DCM Director Stephen Turnock with Associate Minister of Housing Marama Davidson This month DCM featured in an article in the UK newspaper, the Guardian, about homelessness in Aotearoa New Zealand: “Once a world leader in social housing, New Zealand now faces what the UN has called a “human rights crisis”. Although the government is pouring money in, the waitlist for social housing has ballooned to 23,000 – triple that of three years ago – and there are more than 4,000 children living in motels. The government has repeatedly said it is rectifying a problem it inherited from the former National government, which saw the sell-off of state housing and underinvestment in social housing. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, told local media in January the government would leave “no stone unturned” to fix the problem. But groups working to end homelessness say despite those good intentions it could be years before those at the sharp end of the crisis are permanently housed. DCM, a Wellington organisation that helps rough sleepers find housing, has had a rise in the number of people with highly complex needs seeking its services, its outreach manager Natalia Cleland says. Often they are people who have come up against barriers trying to access state-run social housing. Nearly $1m a day is being paid in grants to more than 8,000 people requiring emergency accommodation. Motels are often used to house people for short periods and have been widely criticised as being unsafe and unsanitary. That money would be better spent on permanent housing, Cleland says. “It’s a tricky thing for the government to hold, because on the one hand we don’t want people sleeping rough or living in cars. For them to be inside and have a bathroom and power they can turn on is better than those scenarios. But the money being spent on that could be spent on permanent housing.” The housing crisis is affecting people “across the continuum”, DCM’s director Stephen Turnock says, adding that those who are chronically homeless struggle the most to get a home. The government of New Zealand has poured money into building social housing but the pace has so far been slow. It is a complex and nebulous problem that could take years to solve, Turnock says, and the crucial fix is more housing supply across the board: “[The government’s] vision is bold enough but the ability to pull all the necessary levers in unison is a very difficult task.” He puts the slow pace of new builds down to high construction costs, complicated and restrictive land and housing regulation, a shortfall in construction workers and skyrocketing prices for existing properties. DCM has permanently housed 82 chronically homeless people in Wellington using the Housing First model – which prioritises finding permanent homes for the homeless before addressing other needs such as drug counselling – but has 120 on its waiting list and there are no houses available. DCM finds most of its Housing First properties through the private market, rather than through the government’s housing agency Kainga Ora, and increasingly finds it is competing with Kainga Ora and other housing providers to rent homes. “We are all in the same sandpit together, and the sandpit is not big enough,” Turnock says." Would you like to know more about how you can provide a home for people who are experiencing homelessness? Do you have friends, contacts or networks who would like to be part of this? Stephen would love to hear from you, and to speak more with you about this. You can contact him at director@dcm.org.nz <!-- --> Now I can finally smile It has also been great to see a story about the DCM Dental Service in this month’s OnMas magazine. Dentist Frances Ruddiman reflects on her experience of volunteering at DCM. “The changes that taumai undergo are incredible,” Frances says. “A lot of them haven’t seen a dentist in a long time, so naturally they’re nervous and sometimes worried about being judged. But we’re as welcoming and inclusive as we can be. We want to make sure they know that we see them as a person and will treat them as a person who is valuable and who deserves to have their needs met.” Living in constant pain can take over people’s lives and make it hard to focus on anything else. “When you’re in pain and stressed and worried about what’s causing it, that’s always there in the background. Once we get people out of pain, their spirits seem to be lifted. Often they do need more work, but they’re so much more confident and happy to come back.” “I’ve had patients tell me that now they can finally smile. I had someone tell me, ‘I’m going to a housing interview this afternoon, and I’m so happy that I can walk in and smile with them’,” says Frances." We encourage you to read the full story here, and to share it with any dentists or dental assistants you know. <!-- --> How can I help? We first met Peter just before last year's lock-down, when he connected with our Outreach team. He had been rough sleeping for many months, and DCM kaimahi helped get him on the social housing register. Lock-down brought rapid changes, and Peter found himself in emergency housing. Since then he has been working closely with the Aro Mai Housing First team and he is now stably housed in his own whare. “DCM has helped me more than I could ever have imagined. I have a roof over my head and am extremely grateful. I have my life back.” Peter needs a vacuum cleaner so he can keep his whare clean. Do you have one you could donate?  If so, please get in touch with Matt. *We call the people we work with taumai, meaning to settle. This reflects the journey we set out on together – to become settled, stable and well.   Support DCM! Nāku te rourou, nāu te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive <!-- --> Copyright © 2021 DCM. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: DCMPO Box 6133Marion SqWellington, Wellington 6011 New ZealandAdd us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
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