conceptualising and counting homelessness in new zealand: is comparability with europe possible?

European Research Conference, Budapest, 17th September 2010

UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION IN THE NEW

EUROPEAN CONTEXT

ENHR

Conceptualising and Counting

Homelessness in New Zealand: Is

comparability with Europe possible?

Kate Amore, Michael Baker, Helen Viggers,

Philippa Howden-Chapman

Housing & Health Research Programme

Department of Public Health

University of Otago, Wellington



EUROPEAN CONTEXTENHR

New Zealand?




Homelessness is culturally invisible in New Zealand

- John May, 2003




NZ Definition of Homelessness

A person is homeless, if, at the time of enumeration:

1. Living in a situation unacceptable for permanent

habitation by NZ norms and;

2. Have no options to acquire safe and secure

private accommodation.




NZ Living situations ETHOS LIGHT ETHOS

Without

accommodation

Living rough Living rough ROOFLESS

Improvised dwellingNon-conventional

dwellingINADEQUATE

Temporary

accommodation

Night shelterEmergency

accommodationROOFLESS

Non-profit accommodation for the

homeless Accommodation for the

homelessHOUSELESS

Women’s refuge

Communal commercial accommodation

(eg. boarding houses)

Temporary

accommodationHOUSELESS

Camping ground / motor campNon-conventional

dwellingINADEQUATE

MaraeTemporary


Sharing

accommodationStaying with family or friends

Conventional housing

with family or friendsINSECURE

Uninhabitable

housing

Legally tenured housing without

adequate amenitiesN/A N/A

N/A Health care and penal institutions Institutions HOUSELESS




People in

institutions

≠

homeless

Point in time counts

Conflation of

‘actual’ and ‘at risk’

populations

Individual life

courses cannot be

reflected at a single

point in time




Uninhabitable

housing

=

homeless*

Legally tenured

housing without

adequate amenities

Adequate amenities

is defined by U.N.




NZ Living situations ETHOS LIGHT ETHOS

Without

accommodation

Living rough Living rough ROOFLESS

Improvised dwellingNon-conventional

dwellingINADEQUATE

Temporary

accommodation

Night shelterEmergency

accommodationROOFLESS

Non-profit accommodation for the

homeless Accommodation for the

homelessHOUSELESS

Women’s refuge

Communal commercial accommodation

(eg. boarding houses)

Temporary


Camping ground / motor campNon-conventional

dwellingINADEQUATE

MaraeTemporary


Sharing

accommodationStaying with family or friends

Conventional housing

with family or friendsINSECURE

Uninhabitable

housing

Legally tenured housing without

adequate amenitiesN/A N/A

N/A Health care and penal institutions Institutions HOUSELESS




Scrutiny of domains of home

Habitability

Privacy

Security

of

tenure

Edgar,2009




Domains contributing to

homelessness and housing

exclusion

Habitability PrivacySecurity of

tenureTe

mp

ora

ry p

lac

e o

f

hab

itati

on

cate

go

ries

Without shelter

Temporary

accommodation

Sharing

accommodation

Uninhabitable

housing

Ho

usin

g

exclu

sio

n

cate

go

ry Crowding

(e.g. one family

with many

children)




NZ Definition of Homelessness

A person is homeless, if, at the time of enumeration:

1. Living in a situation unacceptable for permanent

habitation by NZ norms and;

2. Have no options to acquire safe and secure

private accommodation.




‘Due to lack of housing’




Translating ‘no options’ /

‘due to lack of housing’

Necessary to take out people living in

temporary situations for other reasons

Indicator of deprivation

Best available indicator is income

(Census data)

Poverty line is most defensible threshold




Summary

People in institutions are not homeless

People in uninhabitable housing are

homeless (if they are also poor)

Another indicator –

deprivation (income poverty) –

is required to identify the homeless

population in Census data




Conclusions

3 major challenges for international discussion

Logic and validity should be central to the

measurement of homelessness

This discussion is important if homelessness is

to become a key international social indicator




www.healthyhousing.org.nz

conceptualising and counting homelessness in new zealand: is comparability with europe possible?

Health & Medicine