Supporting people in emergency housing - Budget 2021

We’re responding to increased demand to support New Zealanders with nowhere else to stay.

Government is investing $9.39 million over three years to maintain extra Ministry of Social Development staff focused on housing support, especially for people in emergency housing.

This initiative sustains the additional staff required to continue meeting demand for the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) housing support services with a focus on those who need emergency housing.

• Demand for emergency housing has increased, heightened by COVID-19. The number of people or families in emergency housing increased from around 2,600 on any given day in September 2019 to just over 4,000 by May 2020 and remained steady post COVID-19.
• The funding will sustain the 30 extra fulltime equivalent staff who were brought into MSD in the second half of 2020 to focus on helping the increased numbers of New Zealanders with nowhere else to stay.
• The staff are mostly intensive case managers. They are a single point of contact for their clients in emergency housing.

This will help ensure people have support to access emergency housing quickly, to find more sustainable housing when possible and access other support and services they need.

• The intensive case managers manage Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants, ensure their clients receive all the support they’re eligible for, can access other services and get support to find more sustainable housing.
• They form part of the emergency housing intensive case management service introduced under the Government’s Homelessness Action Plan.
• Other support for clients in emergency housing includes contracted Navigators and Support Services, Ready to Rent courses, Housing Brokers and a fund to assist those with children in Emergency Housing.

Costs