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This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.
Imagine living with 10 or more other people in a small house with a bathroom and kitchen between you.
Children get sick and pass the mistakes on to other children, there is no privacy, money can be tight and it is stressful.
Sometimes you run away to the park, to the shops or to work to get some rest.
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But then they tell you that you can’t leave the house for a month, and life under lockdown becomes especially difficult.
At least 400,000 people live in stressed and overcrowded homes, and the shutdown is making life worse for many.
Some community housing operators expect that number to be much higher now, after years of housing problems.
Sharing small or medium-sized homes with large numbers of people is known to cause health problems and often puts people in danger as tempers intensify.
Almost half of the people living in these settings are in highly populated homes and the majority are Pasifika families.
Sara * lives with her five children in a living room in a house in South Auckland, with six other people.
“It is not pleasant, it feels uncomfortable, everyone passes by. They will be sleeping and there are still people walking,” he said.
PETER MEECHAM / THINGS
At least 400,000 people live in stressed and overcrowded homes, and the shutdown is making life worse for many.
There are people who stay in the garage of the house, who drink and smoke, she said, so she is anxious with her five children under the age of 7.
“It’s very stressful and I don’t sleep because I’m paranoid. I just wanted a safe place for ourselves, but I don’t have any place. So we have no choice but to stay in the room.”
Sara has been on the social housing registry since Christmas, but nothing is available.
With the lock in place, your confidence that you will soon get a home will soon decrease even further.
“I called housing and they told me to call Work and Income, and they said they can’t help until the closing is over. I even called the Monte Cecilia Housing Trust and I’m also on their waiting list.”
Sara said the people she lived with want her family to move in, but her only other option was a garage, with a door that doesn’t completely close, in her sister’s crowded house.
“I am not worried about me, they are my children. We would have to see if my sister can let me stay in the garage. But it is cold, we are entering winter now. And her garage is basically half full, so they would crush us.”
Jenny *, her husband and their two children share a room in another house in South Auckland with five members of their extended family.
Jenny’s husband is a roofer, but work stopped due to the closure.
They have been living in overcrowded housing for a year, and the shutdown is making it more stressful.
“Living together is difficult, sometimes it is very stressful. We live with my brother and sometimes we argue for the children.”
Jenny said her children often got sick and needed more space.
“We are in the [Kāinga Ora] sign up for nine months and I called them but have not received any help. We have requested private rentals but received no response. It’s hard.”
Monte Cecilia Housing Trust helps people like Jenny and Sara get ready in an emergency.
Its executive director, Bernie Smith, said the closure would add to illness and domestic violence in overcrowded homes.
KEVIN STENT / STUFF
Housing Minister Megan Woods said the government was working with housing providers to reach people in all housing situations.
“When you’re locked up, struggling in some cases to get food, others become redundant and children get sick the same age, this adds great stress.”
Smith said getting more food packages and financial support for people will help, but ultimately, houses need to be built.
He said it was frustrating for 60 units that the Trust was building for families to stop because suppliers and contractors were considered nonessential.
He understood the need to limit the spread of Covid-19, but said there could be ways to continue working safely in much-needed homes.
“When you see that the fruits and vegetables from the east coast are processed and people are still 2 meters away, why can’t you apply the process to essential services to provide the essential services we need,” he said. .
Smith praised the Pasifika community for sticking to the closing rules, and says that despite the large numbers living in overcrowded housing, the statistics for those who hire Covid-19 remain low.
The government had filled nearly 500 motel units with people living on the street or on the street since the closure.
Housing Minister Megan Woods said the government was working with housing providers to reach people in all housing situations.
“If there are immediate health problems, in terms of someone in the home being diagnosed with or suspected of having Covid-19, there are several solutions that can be explored through the Temporary Housing service,” said Woods.
“There is no priority list, in terms of keeping people warm and well, we have been working in all of those categories since we started bringing in these motels.”
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said in a statement that it was aware that there was an increase in overcrowding of homes as whunau returns home for closing.
He said he would continue to support community housing providers during this time and, as the closure response changes, he would seek longer-term sustainable housing.
“We will establish what is required to meet whānau’s needs, particularly in multi-generational homes with multiple people living indoors, overcrowding; and where any community transmission of Covid-19 will pose a greater threat.”
* * Names have been changed..
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.
