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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.
‘‘We keep reminding Wellington and other places that we’re here.’’
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?’’