Since August 2014, The People’s Project has housed 218 people and supported 251 to seek their own housing solutions.
The majority have been housed in the private sector (80 per cent), with 13 per cent through Housing New Zealand, six per cent through Keys Social Housing and one per cent through pensioner housing.
People’s Project lead Julie Nelson said the team was very pleased with the results, but the real winners were the those who had found homes.
“The people we started working with were those who had been on the street the longest. One man had been on the streets for 25 winters. The People’s Project is really raising people’s aspirations, and we all know something extraordinary is happening here,” Julie said.
Almost all (93 per cent) of the people the project has worked with have retained their accommodation; with 13 per cent now housed for 12 months or longer, 53 per cent between 6-12 months and 32 per cent have been in their new homes for less than six months.
Julie said nobody should underestimate the impact that having a home has on people.
“It is so much more than a roof over their heads. Being without a home can start a snowball effect that can completely degrade a person’s self-worth.
“Project staff often comment about how having a roof over someone’s head instantly changes their demeanour. It’s physical. People hold their heads up higher, as if they’re happy to be seen, instead of often wanting to be invisible. It’s wonderful to witness.”
