Political choices risk increasing homelessness / A.J. Hendry
Homelessness isn't an accident; it exists due to the political choices we make...
Over the last few weeks, the Coalition Government has made several announcements in regard to housing which, if implemented, will increase the risk of homelessness for many of us.
Of course no one wants that outcome. I don't believe for a second that our political leaders truly want to see more whānau on our streets and more kids sleeping in cars.
Whether you vote blue or red, bleed yellow or green, the majority of us here in Aotearoa New Zealand recognize that homelessness isn't ok, and support doing what we can as a society to support people and prevent the harm and trauma that occurs when people experience homelessness.
And yet, it is important to recognize that our collective decisions have consequences.
The policies we choose, the legislation we enact, the choices we make about how we use our collective resources, they have an impact on our real world.
And if we are going to face the big challenges of our generation we must start taking personal responsibility for the collective choices we are making.
And no matter what you may feel about certain policies or political parties, it is important to understand that some of the decisions we are making right now will very likely lead to more people experiencing homelessness, more children sleeping in cars, more young people and elders sleeping on our streets.
You see, Homelessness isn't an accident. Nor is it the result of individual moral failure. Homelessness in our society exists due to a range of complex factors, including the policy settings and political decisions we make as a society.
It is common for people to feel sorry for people experiencing homelessness, to say "its so sad, what can we do", without understanding that there is a lot we can do. Both individually and collectively.
Collectively, we can build a society where we have the appropriate resources, policy settings, and legislation in place to protect us all from experiences of homelessness.
Sure, we have to build houses, that's fundamental. But, alongside that we also need to ensure we have the right legislation in place to regulate the rental market and ensure that renters rights are protected and that our housing is safe and secure.
Decisions to bring back no cause evictions, to shift Government policy in order to make it easier to evict some of our most structurally marginalized whānau, these are political decisions we are making which we know will increase the risk of homelessness for many of us.
The ongoing political decision to invest in private landlords for emergency shelter, without ensuring an appropriate standard of housing, or that people are receiving the support they require, has been a decision which has sustained homelessness for many.
And the myriad of decisions we have been making for decades, to incentize the commodification of housing, encouraging people to sink their savings into housing and property, has been a series of political decisions which have benefited a few, at the expense of the rest of us.
Homelessness is a choice. And one that we continue to make.
It's important to understand that we are not powerless. We can make different choices. We can build a society where all our people are cared for, housed and supported.
But, to do so, we must begin to make different decisions, centering ourselves back on our collective values of fairness, justice, equality, and love.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, by everything going on, but do not forget, the task ahead may be mammoth, but we are not alone, and together, we move mountains.
#LoveIsTheWay
A.J. Hendry is a Laidlaw College graduate, and a Youth Development Worker and rangatahi advocate, working in the Youth Housing and Homelessness space. He leads Kick Back, a service supporting rangatahi experiencing homelessness and is also an advocate working collectively to end youth homelessness in Aotearoa. He is also the curator and creator of When Lambs Are Silent.