Angela Dalton: Chair of Auckland Council's Community Committee on the rise of homelessness in Auckland

Auckland Council’s Community Committee is urging the Government to help the city as rates of homelessness grow.

This comes as new data shows the number of people sleeping rough in the city has gone up by 53 percent since September.

Committee Chair, Councillor Angela Dalton, says she's never seen a spike like this before.

She also explained that this tied in with a number of other changing factors that were putting significant stress on Aucklanders. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bryan Bridge Orcer Council's Community Committee has sent a please
help let it to the government after increasing homelessness. That
comes after stats were released from them showing the number
of homeless people in the city, that's those who are
living in parks or in cars are on the street
was up by fifty three percent between September and December.

(00:21):
Angela Dalton's the chair of that committee and she's with me. Now, Hello, Hi,
great to have you on the show. So is homelessness
really bad at the moment?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, it is. That's what we're experiencing in Auckland as
a region.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
So that's September we had four hundred and twenty six
people on the count. January there's six hundred and fifty three.
How does that compare to previous quarters.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Look, it's just the size of the increase, right, that
is really quite shocking for us. So we haven't seen
such a spike like that before and for us sort
of co wincident along with a lot of other factors
which would expect to put stress onto people living in
a home, renting in a home.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
So it's not seasonal, it's not because we've got warmer weather.
I mean, what were the numbers last dast January.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
I haven't got the numbers on there for January last year.
But this is not a stuasonal spike that we're seeing.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Right, Do you know how these numbers compare those to
previous quarters?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
The specifically the spike is higher than previous quarters, but
the increase in numbers that we're seen, and it's what's
really harder to get a good count. And that's what
I'm asking, that's what we're asking for the government.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
So is this not a good.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Account, really good count?

Speaker 1 (01:38):
You come out and said these numbers are diabolical fifty
three percent increase, But they're not good numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
They're not going to be the total numbers. They're going
to be better numbers than what we're seeing from the government.
And that is something that my experience is consistent, is
that the numbers of the government might have on their
sites will be quite different to what we experience on
the ground. The way I'm talking about the homeless sector
and natures where I'll get the information from these people.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
We're talking about six hundred and fifty three people in
January in cars, parks or on streets. Who does someone
go and count them? One night. How does it work.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
We're the homeless sector, which is you know a number
of different agencies are out there and they some of
them are a long term homeless people, someone new, so
they know the new ones and they know the existing ones,
so yes, between them all, so they all come together,
Allkland counselors at that table with those agencies and so
this is how we get a pretty good picture of

(02:37):
what's going on.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
And you're saying this number six fifty three has never
been that high before.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
I don't know that it has never been that high before,
I am, but it.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Is because it sounds quite alarming.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yes, well wear alarmed all.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Right, Angela, it sounds like you are. Thank you for that,
Angela A Dulton, chair of Auckland Council's Community Committee. For
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