Sleeping bags and tents have become an increasingly common sight in centres across Aotearoa New Zealand, often underpinned by the high cost of living, housing shortages, rising rents and accelerating unemployment.

Next week, Tauranga Moana hosts the Aotearoa Homelessness Summit where those with lived experience of homelessness, as well as community groups, social services, support providers, iwi and hapū, researchers and policy makers, will all come together to drive actionable solutions to help reduce homelessness in Aotearoa.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale says homelessness is a hugely complex problem for communities in New Zealand and around the world.

“There is no simple answer, but a genuine multi-agency community response, backed by effective Government policy and funding, does offer the best prospect of addressing the profound impacts homelessness has on those directly involved, and on the communities they exist in.

“The Aotearoa Homelessness Summit is a necessary step in that direction. I applaud this initiative and sincerely hope it can lead to effective initiatives to tackle what may be the most significant social issue of our time. The only hope of improving homelessness is to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to find workable long-term solutions,” he says.

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The theme of this year’s summit – ‘When the Dominoes Keep Falling’ – will look at the ongoing challenges and cascading effects of homelessness in our communities. Taking place on Wednesday, 16 April at the University of Waikato’s Tauranga Campus, the keynote speaker for the summit is the Hon. Tama Potaka, Associate Minister for Housing, and Minister of Whānau Ora, Māori Crown Relations and Māori Development.

In Tauranga, an estimated 2.8% of the city’s population - approximately 4000 people - experience homelessness in some form, says Paula Naude, Manager of Community Development and Emergency Management at Tauranga City Council.

“These are just the recorded numbers. The actual number of people experiencing homelessness could be much higher, but some people aren’t seeking external support and are falling through the gaps. Homelessness is not a choice. At the Aotearoa Homelessness Summit, this is something we need to collectively address.”

Homelessness isn’t simply people sleeping rough or in cars, it covers multiple situations, be it makeshift shelters, people living in temporary or emergency accommodation, night shelters, boarding houses, refuges, motor camp sites, shared temporary accommodation or living in uninhabitable housing, such as dilapidated dwellings or those not intended for human habitation.

Prior to the Aotearoa Homelessness Summit, a Local Government workshop on homelessness response will take place on Tuesday, 15 April. This pre-summit event will cover creating a New Zealand-based regional guide for homelessness response and reduction.

Aotearoa Homelessness Summit is co-produced by Tauranga City Council, University of Waikato (Tauranga), BayTrust, Te Matapihi, Pacific Growth Services, Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit, Otago Housing Alliance, Community Housing Aotearoa, Housing First New Zealand, Kāinga Tupu Taskforce, and Te Kāuru.

For more information about the summit visit https://events.humanitix.com/aotearoa-homelessness-summit-2025
 

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