Kick Back, a youth development and social justice community responding to Youth Homelessness, is calling for an urgent review of MSD to prevent more young people being denied shelter.

In light of a recent letter sent from Auckland Council identifying a 53% rise in people sleeping rough in the city, Kick Back is calling on the Social Development Minister Louise Upston to launch an urgent review into the Ministry of Social Development’s application of the Government's Emergency Housing Policy.

In response to growing evidence that people seeking Emergency Housing are being denied shelter, Min. Potaka has consistently stood by the Coalition Government's policy, claiming that the policy does not exclude those who need access to Emergency Housing from receiving it.

And yet this is clearly not the case!

Kick Back's own experience is that it is near impossible to access Emergency Housing for a rangatahi at risk of homelessness. "We have no confidence, that if a young person needs to access shelter from MSD, that they will be able to." Says Aaron Hendry, Kick Back's co-founder. "We are witnessing young people going into Work & Income, being denied Emergency Housing before a thorough assessment has been made and then being turned away to continue sleeping rough or live in their cars. Urgent action is needed to address this, our rangatahi are getting hurt, despite the Ministers assurances people are being denied support with severe consequences to their physical, mental and psychological safety!"

Kick Back is calling on the Minister of Social Development to launch an immediate review into MSD's application of the Government's Emergency Housing policy.

"Min. Potaka continues to tell us that those who need to access shelter through MSD can do so, yet this is clearly not the case. If he is correct that the policy is sound, then questions need to be asked of the practices and internal policies of MSD. And that's a question for Louise Upson." says Hendry.

Kick Back is concerned that MSD do not have the capability to assess the risk and need of people walking in the door of W&I in crisis and in urgent need of help.

The rangatahi Kick Back serve consistently tell us that walking into W&I is traumatizing, they report feeling gaslit, victim blamed, and report that they do not believe MSD cares about them or wants to help them!

Kick Back is concerned that MSD does not have the skills needed to accurately assess the level of risk and need that they are faced with.

"It is our experience at least, that assessments - if they happen at all - are not thorough, they lack understanding of homelessness and the complexity and risks associated with it, and they are not trauma informed. Our rangatahi often walk out the door at greater risk of harm and in a worse mental state, than when they walked in. It shouldn’t be possible, that people, specifically young people, can walk into Work & Income – a Public Service – in crisis, ask for help, and be denied support."

Alongside an urgent review of MSD’s internal policy, practice and application in relation to the Government’s Emergency Housing policy, Kick Back is also calling on the Government to roll back their reforms until they have the public’s confidence that people are not being harmed as a result of their recent changes to the Emergency Housing Policy. Kick Back is also calling on the Government to begin immediate work on developing Duty to Assist legislation to clarify the states responsibility to support people experiencing homelessness.

“Duty to Assist legislation would ensure that when someone walks in the door of W&I that MSD understand their responsibilities to ensure people receive the support they are entitled to. Experiencing homelessness as a young person is incredibly dangerous. We cannot afford to get this wrong.” Warns Hendry. “We can build a society where homelessness no longer exists, we can ensure that every one of our rangatahi and whānau are housed, supported and cared for. We can ensure we end homelessness in Aotearoa. However, to achieve this, we must begin making different decisions! Homelessness does not need to exist in Aotearoa, we do not have to accept a reality where some of our nations most vulnerable kids are abandoned to sleep on our streets! Decades of political decisions have created the conditions for homelessness to endure, the good news is, we can make different ones!”

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