“We need to look at the traditions of marae opening their doors,” says Matthew Tukaki, chairperson of the National Māori Authority, Ngā Ngaru.
“I’m not talking everyone rocking into the wharenui. It’s about the land that’s available directly around the marae.”
The National Māori Authority – a members-based collective advocating for Māori – is setting its sights on existing moveable units that could be quickly set up as transitional houses on marae land.
While the proposal wouldn’t work for every marae, Tukaki says he has heard from several who are keen to provide the land if the Government could stump up with the houses. In particular, Tukaki points to large urban marae such as Ngā Hau E Whā in Christchurch as having resources to manaaki (support) the homeless in their areas.
“There’s a couple of thousand demountable houses around the country; use some of those units and shift them on to some of that marae land,” he says.
The call is supported by Auckland’s Te Puea Marae, where a similar model is already being trialled. The Māngere marae is currently housing five families in moveable units at the back of its section. Te Puea kaitiaki matua Hurimoana Dennis says the pilot is going well and plans are already underway to place another five dwellings on reclaimed land nearby.
“When you put them to bed at night and wake them up in the morning you get to know the families very well and they get to know you,” says Dennis.
The units are part of Te Puea’s larger housing strategy, Manaaki Tāngata e Rua, which has housed more than 530 people since beginning trials in 2017. The marae also helps to find permanent accommodation once people are ready to move on and keeps in touch for years afterward to make sure things are going well. According to Dennis, it’s a strategy that could be replicated in other marae with the right support from the Government.
The call has also seen support from housing and social services provider Lifewise. Chief Executive Jo Denvir says the marae-based model is a great option for temporary accommodation, especially for whānau Māori experiencing homelessness. Denvir says that while temporary housing is only ever a short-term solution, the Government needs to look at new options beyond paying for private motels. Ultimately though, Denvir says those experiencing homelessness should be given a range of options.
“We know from experience that people are more likely to remain in housing when there are different options that are offered to them,” she says.
“We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that transitional housing is just that.”
According to recent figures, about 41,000 people (or 1 percent of the population) are experiencing some form of homelessness. This includes people sleeping in cars, couch-surfing, staying with family and rough-sleeping. The Government currently provides support in the form of accommodation supplements, emergency housing grants and transitional housing.
Due to the lack of housing supply, emergency and transitional housing programmes are increasingly reliant on motels, which the Government acknowledges as a costly and inefficient solution. In 2019, spending on the Emergency Housing Grants was around $2.5 million per week. Meanwhile, accommodation supplements cost the Government around $31 million a week, with the income-related rent subsidies costing around $18 million per week.
“Driving money into motels is a very short-term programme of work,” says Tukaki.
“If we are spending a million dollars a day on housing in hotels and motels, let’s start spending that money wisely in the long term.
Aside from the money, Tukaki says marae are better placed to provide the social, mental, and cultural support that goes beyond motel accommodation. In particular, the social connection of communal living is something Tukaki says can deliver benefits for people often lacking strong support networks. This could help alleviate some of the root causes of homelessness such as cultural dislocation and lack of family support.
“Marae have social services, kaumātua housing, often kōhanga and kura reo. We could help whānau get back on their feet until they find something more sustainable,” he says.
However, Tukaki acknowledges it’s not something that would work for every marae. While urban marae like Te Puea may have the space and resources to provide temporary housing, many others do not. Some marae may also be focused on providing traditional marae services such a tangihanga, whanau ora, huihuinga, and kaumātua housing. Others may not be in more remote locations making transport more difficult.
One of the major problems is land, according to Martin Kaipo, CEO of Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Otangarei Trust, a Māori health and social services provider based in Whangārei. Kaipo says many marae are keen to contribute, but not all are able to. Working with marae in Te Tai Tōkerau, Kaipo says he would like to see the Government contribute funding for both land and housing so marae can provide traditional manaakitanga to those experiencing homelessness in their rohe.
“All the marae are keen to contribute, the problem is they’re not all set up for that right now,” he says.
Work to create more transitional housing is currently underway at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The Government’s recent Aotearoa Homelessness Action Plan 2020-2023 proposes an urgent increase in the supply of transitional housing places to reduce the use of motels. One of the plan’s first commitments is to sink $175 million into increasing the supply of transitional housing places to work closer with marae. An innovation and partnership fund of $16.6 million has also been established to trial new solutions to the homelessness crisis. It’s this new push for funding that the National Māori Authorities proposal seeks to capitalise on.
“We’ve done this before in Whakatāne after Whakaari/White Island, at Ngā Matāwaka after the Christchurch earthquake, and in Kaikōura,” says Tukaki.
“It’s not going to be for everybody but we have a history of doing this and now we have another opportunity.”
