People are increasingly living in overcrowded houses and struggling to find accommodation in Dunedin — and the city’s housing crisis is only expected to get worse.
Salvation Army Dunedin community ministries manager David McKenzie said housing was the biggest issue in the city.
The Dunedin Hospital rebuild would only exacerbate the problem.
‘‘Our housing situation is critical.’’
He knew of a situation where eight people were living in a three-bedroom house, and overcrowding was becoming more common, he said.
Part of his job was pushing for action on Dunedin’s housing supply at a central government level, Mr McKenzie said.

It comes as the organisation releases its annual State of the Nation report, which outlines how New Zealand has fared across a range of social indicators.
The report summary found there were some improvements in 2019, particularly around low unemployment, increased household incomes, and reduced child poverty.
But there was still a long way to go, according to Salvation Army social policy and parliamentary unit director Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hutson.
‘‘Sadly, poverty at the most disadvantaged levels of our community remains stubborn and other factors linked to poverty, like high social housing demand, crime, and children at risk of harm, still exist.
‘‘Also, we see levels of family violence, drug and alcohol use, and problem gambling at persistently high levels.’’
As well as housing woes, addiction problems and increasing personal debt were also plaguing many people in Dunedin, Mr McKenzie said.
People taking out high-interest loans while not having the income to meet repayments was an issue, Mr McKenzie said.
‘‘One person the other day, $165 a week repayment for a trip that he took, that he felt he needed to at Christmas time.
‘‘His benefit’s only $200-and-something.
‘‘You can ask ‘Why do people make these decisions?’, but they just do.’’
As for addiction, Mr McKenzie said the Salvation Army’s programmes in Dunedin were consistently full.
‘‘It’s the complexity of not just one drug or one situation,’’ he said.
‘‘We know, from time to time, we end up giving food parcels to people who have spent their whole benefit on alcohol or drugs of some type.’’
That was frustrating, he acknowledged.
But they tried to find ways of engaging with those people without being punitive.
‘‘What else is going on, looking deeper at the issue?’’
Comments
You can't tax a country into wealth, and expect to solve problems by bringing in vast numbers of immigrants - who tend to add their own problems and needs to the mix.
As long as our government, at all levels, continues to cling to faulty ideology, our problems as a nation will continue to get worse.
Quite right. They must regulate interest bearing fees and private rentals.
Hands off market is out of control.
Absolutely.
The high cost of living makes Dunedin an unattractive destination. Housing is structural, drug addiction caused by pushers.
‘‘You can ask ‘Why do people make these decisions?’, but they just do.’’
Because they know our leadership boosts their egos by signalling their virtue thus continually denying the opportunity for these people to learn from the consequences of the decisions.
"That was frustrating, he acknowledged. But they tried to find ways of engaging with those people without being punitive."
Spare the rod, spoil the child. That doesn't mean they should get a caning, as in many parts of the world. It means we need to stop sparing the lesson of reality based consequences. Borrowing money for consumption is entitled stupidity.
‘‘What else is going on, looking deeper at the issue?’’
Good idea. The first place to start is within everyone of us.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn did exactly that when his virtuous world collapsed around him. His book is called The Gulag Archipelago.