World Homeless Day: Rangatahi call for housing justice and youth-led solutions

A youth homelessness collective is urging Aotearoa to take a stand on the right to housing this World Homeless Day.

Manaaki Rangatahi, a Tāmaki Makaurau-based collective working to prevent and end youth homelessness, was set to host a rangatahi-led activation in Manukau on Friday, under the theme 'A safe and secure home is a home'.

In 2023, it called on all political parties to advance six key calls to action, including guaranteeing the right to a healthy home, investment in youth housing, a comprehensive youth homeless strategy, and better data collection.

That call remained ongoing.

The collective's pou ārahi (chief executive) Bianca Johanson said Aotearoa was still not doing enough as a country or a community.

"What aggravates me is that in this country, and it's seen in a lot of countries, we do not really care about our rangatahi," she told RNZ.

"If we could end youth homelessness, it would make a real dent in homelessness overall. There's no reason apart from dollars as to why we can't, especially when it comes to our young people."

She said the World Homeless Day kaupapa was about giving young people a public and political platform to share their experiences and aspirations.

"There's no other place for them to do that in a public forum," she said.

"Our rangatahi are leading the kaupapa, they've designed the theme, the t-shirts, everything."

The theme, Johanson said, reflected the reality that homelessness affected communities beyond the CBD.

"Homelessness doesn't just happen in the city. It happens in South Auckland and across Aotearoa."

She said the country needed to take a stand on the right to housing and reducing poverty.

"We haven't taken a stand as a country on the right to housing. We're not clear about where we sit, and there's no plan to get out of it."

She said youth homelessness was often misunderstood and that many rangatahi the collective worked with were leaving unsafe homes or state care, not because they wanted to rebel, but because they wanted to survive.

"Most of our rangatahi are leaving situations where there's been abuse of some kind and their homes have become very unsafe," she said.

"They'd rather be with a safe, supportive whānau that cares for them, but that's not the reality we live in."

Rangatahi had hope for their futures but were constantly facing discrimination and systemic barriers, Johanson said.

"It's very difficult when you're discriminated against because you're young, because you're Māori, because you're from an oppressed or marginalised community that constantly faces barriers.

"They want to work, they want to do well in their lives, they really want success for themselves and their future whānau."

She said punitive policies like benefit sanctions made it harder for young people to gain stability.

"With the benefit sanctions, rangatahi have to work 30 hours a week minimum. That's considered full-time work," she said.

"Even if you've got a 20-hour job, that's not enough. You can still get sanctioned for that.

"It's punishing people who are poor, and a lot of that is our people."

Instead of "punishment", Johanson said government agencies should be offering opportunities.

"Why doesn't MSD have internships for our young people so they can get experience? I've taken a young person into MSD and said, 'this person's great on the phone, let them answer your phone line'. They just laugh at me, but I'm serious. Where are the opportunities?

"If you're going to put sanctions on them, then hire them. Give them a job. Give them a year of work experience and subsidise their wage...That would benefit everyone."

The collective believed that rangatahi needed youth-specific, culturally grounded support, not blanket policies.

"Rangatahi are treated no different from everybody else, but they have very specific needs...cultural needs, developmental needs. We need youth development-trained people in every office that works with them.

"Community should be behind our rangatahi, supporting them and giving them experiences of success. Instead of sitting around going, 'oh well, you don't get a job, we give you nothing,'" she said.

Johanson encouraged all New Zealanders to talk about youth homelessness and understand its root causes.

"If people are in spaces where they have influence, then talk about rangatahi homelessness...because you'll probably be the only one in the room who does," she said.

"If we prevent and end youth homelessness, we can end homelessness altogether."

Associate Housing Minister responds

In a statement to RNZ, Tama Potaka, the Associate Minister of Housing with a responsibility for homelessness said the government wanted to help young people avoid homelessness.

"We are considering longer term measures to address homelessness in addition to supports currently in place, and are taking additional immediate action to support people living without shelter."

Potaka acknowleged that for rangatahi in particular, the causes of homelessness could be complex and come from a range of factors.

"A system-wide approach is often required, focusing on issues like income, employment, health, disability, and housing services and supports."

He said the government invested in services including youth transitional housing and rangatahi-supported accommodation, with over $550 million targeted in 2024/25 and 2025/26, plus $100m over four years to ease social housing pressures.

"I encourage any young person in a situation where they are living on the streets or close to the streets to contact the MSD - through their Youth Service they can get support to help them stay engaged in education, training, employment, and to reduce their risk of homelessness," Potaka said.

Additionally, a spokesperson for the minister's office said the government had invested an additional $17m this year to support people living without shelter.

This included $7m for up to 300 extra social homes for people in the Housing First programme and $10m for those at risk of homelessness.

Officials were reviewing housing and support programmes to ensure social housing was delivered in the right places with appropriate supports, the spokesperson said.

"The government is committed to improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness, including young people, and making the housing system fair and responsive."

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