February 2025 pānui
As we begin 2025, let’s consider this powerful whakatauki which expresses the mana of women:
Me aro koe ki te hā o Hine-ahu-one
Pay heed to the dignity and power of women
Mauri ora,
On behalf of the Coalition I want to extend our gratitude for your support. Every story we share, every connection we make, and every moment of advocacy helps us take steps together, towards addressing housing insecurity and its profound impacts, which over 57,000 women in Aotearoa New Zealand face today.
In December 2024 we launched our commissioned research report, Ngā Ara ki te Kāinga: Understanding Barriers and Solutions to Women’s Homelessness. It was the first of its kind in Aotearoa, and has helped grow momentum and awareness in the sector.
The report has enabled women’s own experiences of the housing system to be heard, and has highlighted comparative analysis of key outcomes through 2018 and 2023 Census data.
We had significant media coverage from the launch of the report, which has also helped raise awareness with the general public. Please help us keep the momentum going! Share our newsletter with your colleagues and whānau so they too can stay connected. Follow us on LinkedIn for information and events.
By publishing this critical gendered data we call on the Government to prioritise women's needs in housing. The report calls for:
Government agencies to develop comprehensive policy and operational frameworks that specifically address women's housing needs, including improved gender disaggregated data collection and analysis.
A national strategy dedicated to women's homelessness that provides targeted support for wāhine Māori, Pacific women, older women, single mothers, and other marginalized women's groups.
Stronger, coordinated partnerships between government agencies, community providers, Māori, and iwi organizations to deliver holistic support.
Prioritization of targeted prevention and early intervention programs for women at high risk of homelessness.
Implementation of a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to continuously assess the effectiveness of interventions and policies targeting women's homelessness.
Another key milestone in 2024 was our strategy workshop at the Community Housing Aotearoa Conference, which laid the foundation for the policy and practice toolkit CEWH is developing. The toolkit will help providers and their partners make decisions about design and service provision that take gender and women’s specific needs into account. We’ll have more to share about this in March.
As we begin 2025, the fact remains that too many of our women are unhoused, unnoticed, and unsafe, and it is this stark reality that drives our commitment. In the shadow of ongoing challenges, we look to the potential that 2025 offers.
This year we will be taking our research report to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Ōtautahi Christchurch, to reach a wider audience and community who can join us in influencing change. If you'd like to be a part of this, or to run an event with us in your region, get in touch with us at admin@cewh.org.
CEWH is looking forward to taking part in events on and around International Women's Day, which is on March 8. Keep an eye on our events page and our LinkedIn.
Nāku noa,
Victoria Crockford
Project Director, Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness
NEWS AND VIEWS
‘A waiting list we will never meet’: More older people struggling to find homes
Christchurch Methodist Mission chief executive Jill Hawkey, who is on the CEWH steering group, highlights the growing housing crisis among our elderly population in this article in The Press.
Last week the Christchurch Methodist Mission opened 14 new accessible units in Papanui, offering a mix of social housing and affordable rentals starting at $300 weekly.
The Mission's dedication to creating these homes will make a real difference in the community. Whakamihi! Congratulations to the team behind this project and to the new tenants at the complex.
Growing trend of older women seeking shared housing arrangements
The Washington Post followed Sue Ronnenkamp's story which exemplifies a broader societal shift, where women are finding roommates not just for financial reasons, but also for companionship and mutual support.
The article, which you can read here, highlights that SpareRoom.com reports nearly double the number of people over 55 seeking roommates in five years, and new organisations such as Sunshine Home Share Colorado are emerging to facilitate connections.
In Aotearoa, the number of older people on the social housing register has tripled in the last five years, and CEWH highlighted this trend in our research report:
For older women facing homelessness, barriers such as familial breakdowns, unaffordable housing, health problems, long-standing gender pay gaps, and a higher life expectancy result in prolonged financial hardship or poverty. Policy decisions, social and gender norms, and a lack of affordable housing stock further exacerbate these issues.
Women who took part in our research described experiencing elder abuse from family members, a loss of assets and finances through divorce or separation, and a lack of financial control or security.
“Well, really the housing part, when I really lose it is when all my offspring seem to know better than I did [about] what I needed, and that’s when the house got sold from under my feet really.”
Find out more about Homeshare which is run and facilitated by Age Concern Auckland.The programme supports people to age and live well within their chosen communities.
International Women’s Day, March 8
International Women’s Day is in its 30th year this year, and the theme is "March Forward: From Promises to Progress”. Thirty years ago, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was launched, which outlined 12 critical areas for urgent progress, from economic empowerment and leadership to media representation and climate justice.
As we pointed out in our CEDAW shadow report, which Caroline Herewini presented to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women last year, housing insecurity is one area where we join a global movement to make women’s experiences more visible.
Through the shadow report we called for:
better data and evidence on more “hidden” forms of women’s homelessness
investment in affordable, accessible rentals,
reporting and action on gender pay gaps.
Caroline is heading back to the United Nations in New York in March, and will present our research findings to the Commission on the Status of Women on the 30th anniversary on Beijing. We will be updating our LinkedIn with insights and photos of Caroline’s trip, so keep an eye out!
Addressing homelessness during pregnancy for women and gender- diverse people
Canada’s Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network ran an insightful webinar on managing pregnancy when experiencing homelessness.
You can watch the webinar here, and download the slidedeck here
Pregnancy and homelessness is an issue for the women and gender- diverse people we advocate for here in Aotearoa. In CEWH’s research report, women shared the difficulties they experienced navigating pregnancy while living in homelessness.
“When you’re pregnant, that’s the hardest thing … I’ve done that twice.… Making sure you can get to your appointments, making sure that you’re eating the right foods for baby, getting stuff you need.”
“If it wasn’t for Sew Much Love, I don’t think I would have made it as far as I’ve made it, because of the encouragement,” says Brenda Jackson.
Sew Much Love for homeless women in Memphis
Sew Much Love is an arts-based social enterprise that offers a safe and secure environment for homeless and vulnerable women during the day, through the art of sewing. Watch this video to find out more about this inspiring programme.
“(The women) are able to release a lot of stress that is within them on their hearts to let that go. They’re able to then use their hands to make products and they take untraditional items and make it into sellable art,” said Executive Producer, Ayana Williams.
POLICY AND POLITICAL INSIGHTS
Homelessness Action Plan (HAP) evaluation report
Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has published the evaluation report of the Homelessness Action Plan.
In 2023, we could see failings for women in the original HAP, and this was a key catalyst to forming the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness. We were all keenly aware that the needs of homeless women in Aotearoa were not being addressed or met through the plan.
Like many of you, our team members Victoria Crockford, Caroline Herewini (Ngā ti Kahungunu/ Ngāi Tūhoe), Jill Hawkey and Jo Cribb provided feedback on the plan - that there was no gender analysis and few mentions of women. We advocated for changes to be made, and despite the HAP programme of work being cancelled, we are continuing to advocate for a homelessness strategy for women.
He iti te mokoroa, nāna i kati te kahikatea
The grub may be small, but it cuts through the kahikatea
Vic, Helen, Jo, Caroline, and Jill
