1. POLICY PROJECT: DESIGNING SOLUTIONS FOR HOMELESSNESS IN AUCKLAND
Debbie Edwards
Senior Policy Manager – Affordable Housing Policy
Community and Social Policy Department
21 February 2018

2. Auckland Council’s position and role
Position: Homelessness should be rare, brief and non-recurring.
Role: Strengthen levers to improve, end and prevent homelessness with a focus on:
Leading and coordinating the development of a
regional, cross- sectoral homelessness plan
Working with local & central government, NGOs and the private sector
Integrating homelessness into relevant policies and regulation
Development of a sustainable funding base
Monitoring and evaluation    

3. What does this mean? Unpacking the decision…
1. Broad definition - all forms of homelessness:
without shelter (e.g. sleeping rough or in vehicles)
in temporary accommodation (e.g. emergency housing)
in shared accommodation temporarily (e.g. “couch surfing”) or
in uninhabitable housing (e.g. garages).
Implications:
Focus on the continuum – not just rough sleepers
Focus on the housing continuum
→ Housing supply and demand factors, and problem limitation

4. What does this mean? Unpacking the decision…

5. What does this mean? Unpacking the decision…
2. Rare, brief and non-recurring
Rare… } Incidence is low, i.e. few new experiences, and
Brief… } when it does occur, its for a very short time and
Non-recurring… } doesn’t occur again for that individual
3. Improve, end and prevent
Improve… } Reducing the negative impacts
End… } Enabling return to stable, healthy housing
Prevent… } Taking steps so that it doesn’t happen in the first place

6. What does this mean? Unpacking the decision…
Implications
→ Prevention
Understand the supply and demand determinants
Reduce the risk factors and strengthen the protective factors
Understand the priority populations/communities
Where are the greatest needs?
What changes would make the biggest possible difference?
How do we reduce inequalities?
→ Early intervention
Recognise individual/whanau warning signs, respond quickly, appropriately, and effectively
→ Interventions for people experiencing homelessness
Limit the problems and the impact
Provide ongoing support and build resilience
Place those with lived experience front and centre

7. What does this mean? Unpacking the decision…
4. Regional, cross- sectoral homelessness plan
Regional… All of Auckland
Cross-sectoral … Organisations who can contribute to the outcomes
Local/central government, NGOs, Mäori/iwi/mana whenua, academics/ researchers, philanthropics , private sector
Implications
→ Process, outputs and outcomes with shared ownership
→ No real precedent, so need to create one
→ Build on what is already there
→ Emphasis on collaboration

8. Models/frameworks we are drawing on:
→ Viable system model – mapping and analysis
Purpose and guidance
Coordination and collaboration
Control structures and processes
Interventions/services
Scanning and planning
→ Collective impact
→ Co-design   
→ Theory of change/intervention logic

9. Approach… Engagement Cross-sectoral Leadership Group
System mapping with key stakeholders using VSM
Journey/pathway mapping with people at risk or with lived experience of homelessness and frontline service providers
Implementation → prototyping

10. Approach…
Engagement
Co-design solutions with wider group of stakeholders incl. local boards
Shared understanding of the problem - determinants, risk/protective factors, priority populations, system issues
Homelessness Plan: Vision, objectives, principles, priorities
Action Plan: Short-medium term collaborative actions, costed
Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

11. Questions for discussion
Designing Solutions
From your experience, what are the main determinants or drivers of homelessness? What are the things we should focus on to really turn this around?
We need to work together at scale to address this… what will it take? What do we need to do to make this work?
If you’d like to be involved, please leave your name, role, organisation and contact details.