Jocelyn Smith. PHOTO: ODT FILES Government changes to social housing have left an Oamaru charity official heartbroken. The changes — announced as part of the Budget — will boost weekly support for 110,000 families by almost $15 but leave another 80,000 families worse off by $30 a week. They will also be paired with more stringent criteria for getting into social housing. Salvation Army major Jocelyn Smith said she was ‘‘a mixture of sad and angry’’ when she heard the news. ‘‘That breaks my heart. ‘‘In the midst of what is already a really tough time, here is another hit they have to absorb. ‘‘It continues to impact the poorest and most marginalised in our communities. ‘‘It just seems those are the people that always take the biggest hits when there’s policy changes and there’s financial adjustments that need to be made to make budgets work.’’ The Salvation Army runs 12 units in Oamaru as part of a government contract. Some of those tenants had been there for 20 years and the changes caused a spike in ‘‘fear and an increase in anxiety’’, she said. ‘‘Not so much just about the increase in the rent that will occur in April but the vulnerability and the uncertainty around their futures. ‘‘They had thought they had a home for life. ‘‘Now these people are left with this fear of ‘when will I be kicked out and where will I go?’’’ The burden of enforcing the changes was also forced upon Salvation Army staff, she said. ‘‘Our frontline staff will be the ones who will have to deliver these policies which we didn’t make and we weren’t consulted on. ‘‘It’ll be our frontline chaplains and property managers that will be there to hear [problems] and to try to bring some hope and some comfort in those spaces.’’ It was not just about the physical housing on offer. ‘‘What we provide is not just the roof over their head but the wraparound social support and the community and the camaraderie in those spaces.’’ The national organisation would continue to advocate for the government to look after those in social housing, she said. ‘‘Whether that has any impact, I don’t know, but it has to be said.’’
