March 2025 pānui
Victoria Crockford from Coalition to End Women's Homelessness, Prue Tyler Founder and Director of SHIFT Advisory and Independent Director Tracey Cross at the Financial Services Council event Empower Women.
Kia ora koutou katoa,
It’s been inspiring to see so much activity around International Women’s Day. It’s a remarkable day to celebrate women’s achievements and raise awareness for the advocacy that is needed for gender equality.
We are reflecting on the IWD themes, which resonate deeply with our mission and are reflected in the work we do.
Our mission is to ensure Aotearoa’s homeless response works for women, by creating accountability and creating opportunities for collaboration and capacity- building.
Our vision is that ALL women living in Aotearoa New Zealand have a great place to call home.
The IWD theme Accelerate Action underscores the urgency of achieving gender equality. It calls for bold, decisive steps to dismantle systemic barriers and biases that affect women around the world in every aspect of life.
But where is that urgency for the 57,000 women experiencing homelessness in New Zealand? Where are the immediate, transformative actions needed to move these wāhine from unsafe environments into secure homes?
Real progress means more than words—it means ensuring every woman has a safe place to call home. While poverty and exclusion drive homelessness for all, women face unique challenges. Yet, New Zealand’s housing system has long ignored gender. At CEWH, we’re committed to real change, not just promises.
For IWD, we’re highlighting the stories of some of the 18 women who shared their experiences for our research.
On International Women’s Day, we also celebrate the achievements of women everywhere. We acknowledge our steering committee in particular.
Helen Robinson, Manutaki – Auckland City Missioner, for her powerful and honest submission to the Justice Select Committee, on behalf of Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai, expressing opposition to the Principles of The Treaty of Waitangi Bill. You can watch her submission here.
Jill Hawkey, Executive Director, and her colleague Jane Higgins also presented the Christchurch Methodist Mission’s opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill, pointing out they see the breaches of Te Tiriti daily in their work in Ōtautahi. Jill also presented our research to the Catholic Women’s League on IWD.
Caroline Herewini, Kaiwhakahaere at Te Whare Tiaki Wāhine Refuge, is currently in New York presenting our research to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. The CSW plays a crucial role in advancing the rights of women and girls, documenting their lived experiences worldwide, and shaping global standards for gender equality and empowerment.
Newsroom recently featured a compelling opinion piece by Jo Cribb, emphasising the importance of strategic leadership. In the article Jo says that clear and effective strategies should come from the government, employers, self-employed individuals, and small business owners. However, a recent Director Sentiment Survey revealed that one of the biggest challenges is balancing long-term vision with the immediate demands of today.
"The consequences of not investing in the future are profound," Jo warns.
Read this thought provoking leadership piece here.
If you have something to share in our newsletter, we’d love to hear from you at admin@cewh.org. Please help us amplify our message by encouraging others to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.
We’re grateful for this community, where we celebrate women’s achievements and advocate for gender equality—not just on International Women’s Day, but every day.
Nāku noa,
Victoria Crockford
Project Director, Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness
NEWS AND VIEWS
CEWH highlights women’s homelessness on NewstalkZB
CEWH Director Victoria Crockford spoke to NewstalkZB for International Women’s Day on Saturday, addressing the often-overlooked issue of women’s homelessness.
Reporter Courtney Winter explained that this IWD, advocates are working to bring greater visibility to the number of homeless women in New Zealand.
The bulletin explored the IWD theme Accelerate Action, emphasising the need for swift efforts to advance gender equality.
Courtney highlighted the CEWH research which shows that women make up 50% of those experiencing homelessness in New Zealand, yet their struggles often go unseen.
“They will do anything to avoid sleeping on the street, which is where the most visible homelessness is. They will live in cars, they will sleep on couches, they will be in people’s garages,” Victoria said.
Auckland Council's Community Committee sends ‘please help' letter to Minister for Social Development and Employment and Minister of Housing
Auckland Council’s Community Committee has expressed "deep concern" over rising homelessness in a letter to Ministers Louise Upston and Chris Bishop, calling for increased funding for those with acute housing needs.
Auckland Councillor and Community Committee chair Angela Dalton criticised cuts to social housing, warning that the situation will worsen if government commitments to vulnerable people are not upheld.
The committee is also seeking clearer data on where those leaving emergency housing, especially those evicted, have gone, stressing the need for evidence-based policy responses.
Listen to this story and read it here on RNZ
CEWH Project Director Victoria Crockford interview on RNZ Midday Report
In an interview yesterday with Charlotte Cook, Victoria highlighted the alarming rise in women’s homelessness in New Zealand, with 57,000 women affected—many of whom are in Auckland.
She shared insights from interviews with 18 wāhine experiencing homelessness, which were done as part of CEWH’s research - revealing that support services are often uncoordinated and lack dedicated women-only housing spaces.
“Women are often unsafe in mixed gender spaces; they have often experienced trauma at the hands of men, and whilst they may not be physically threatened they feel psychologically unsafe,” she said.
Victoria emphasised that the crisis is dire, especially as there is no plan or funding to address women’s homelessness.
“I think it's really dire, and it's because we have largely treated the issue as if it is the same issue as it is for men. It's extremely important to get it right for men too, but when we don't get it right for women, we don't get it right for [their] children.”
Victoria pointed to decades of underfunding in the housing sector as a key reason for the rapid rise in homelessness, stressing that both state and market-driven approaches have failed to provide long-term, affordable housing solutions.
Listen to the interview here
Counting Ourselves report released
Counting Ourselves is a comprehensive national survey of the health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people aged 14 and older living in Aotearoa New Zealand. The report findings are from 2,631 trans and non-binary people.
Read about the report here on RNZ, and download the report here
The report acknowledges that having a safe and stable home is important for everyone’s health and wellbeing. The key findings around housing include:
19% of participants had ever experienced homelessness
16% of participants had ever moved cities or towns in Aotearoa New Zealand to feel safer as a trans or non-binary person.
Around 14% of participants had ever needed emergency housing, including a shelter or refuge. Of those, 15% had used emergency housing, although more (21%) did not try to because they were afraid of being treated badly.
“Extremely terrifying, sleeping outside as a trans woman on the streets”, said one participant
Financial Adviser Emily Owen tells her story: from homelessness and domestic violence to financial independence
Nadine Higgins at NZ Herald spoke to Financial Adviser Emily Owen for The Prosperity Project - a weekly personal finance podcast.
In the interview, Emily talks about facing immense adversity and financial insecurity firsthand—sleeping in her car, enduring domestic violence, and becoming a widowed single mother at just 20 years old, with her son who was only five weeks old.
Emily urges others to seek support, acknowledging the charities and social agencies that helped transform her life. She’s channelled her experiences into a meaningful career focused on helping others make good financial decisions.
Read the story and listen to the podcast here.
Advocates say it’s near impossible to get into emergency housing as homelessness increases
Political Reporter Lillian Hanley’s RNZ story features advocates who describe navigating the emergency housing system as "like smashing your head against a brick wall" and say its design makes it feel "almost like a trap."
Labour's housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said the numbers [as provided in the article] don't paint the full picture because of the concerns outlined by those on the frontline.
He said homelessness is up as a direct result of the government's policy on emergency housing.
Read the article here
Homelessness crisis: Advocates call for better housing solutions
In this article and podcast, University of Otago research professor, and co-leader of He Kāinga Oranga – Housing and Health Research Programme, Nevil Pierse told The Front Page it seems obvious, but the solution to our homelessness crisis is getting people into homes.
“From people who’ve been sleeping rough with mental health and other problems, you see that over 12 months, if you can get people permanently housed and supported, a dramatic improvement in mental health with their need for services going down about 60 to 80%,” he said.
Read the article here.
CEWH research presented at Financial Services Council New Zealand event
CEWH Project Director Victoria Crockford presented the Coalition's research at the Financial Services Council New Zealand: Empower Women event last week.
Victoria reflected that she feels fortunate to get to talk about the significant work of the frontline kaimahi working to end women's homelessness and to share the stories of Aotearoa's homeless women.
"It was great having KiwiSaver providers and asset managers in the room, to hear about the real life consequences of our collective failure to design gender into our key policies," she said.
One concept which was discussed at length was that homelessness could happen to any of the women you know.
"Housing precarity is on the rise, and for older women in particular, it can be one day: longterm private rental, next day: your car," she said.
Financial Services Council releases latest Insights and Trends report exploring the relationship between women and finance in New Zealand
This report takes a closer look at how Kiwi women approach financial confidence and wellbeing, and finds that women face a variety of obstacles compared to their mail counterparts.
Read the report here.
Key insights from the report include:
women are more likely to understand financial concepts than men, but are less confident about their financial understanding.
the factors driving the KiwiSaver gender retirement gap.
women are more likely to be concerned by inflation and interest rates.
over 80% of Kiwi women rate their level of financial wellbeing as moderate, low or very low.
CoreLogic’s Women and Property report release
CoreLogic’s Women and Property report tracks rates of home ownership across different intersections of society. The scope of the report aims to understand the difference between male and female home ownership, and some of the challenges faced to enter property ownership.
The key findings are:
women are under-represented in investment property
financial resources are holding women back, not attitudes
policymakers should encourage financial education for women.
The report states that there are several factors that may have historically hindered home ownership among females relative to males. In past reports, they have noted the role of the gender wage gap which means it may take women longer on average to accumulate a deposit for a home.
Read the report here
Homeshare for Her: Women connecting in our community
Homeshare for Her Trust
This platform offers a safe space for women in Nelson Tasman to connect, share homes, and build social networks. Established in 2022, the Trust was created in response to the growing need for affordable accommodation, particularly for older women living alone, facing challenges such as home maintenance, financial hardship, and loneliness.
The trust hopes to expand the service into wider Aotearoa New Zealand in the future.
Have a look at their website here.
"I found a great place to live, and I feel safe and supported in my new home." Sarah
Valentines makeover for homeless women in Salt Lake City
Last month in Salt Lake City, USA, volunteers put on a Valentine’s banquet and makeover for homeless women in. Around 100 women attended, enjoying a pop-up salon offering free haircuts, makeup, nail polish, clothing, and other donations.
Have a look at the beautiful photographs here.
POLICY AND POLITICAL INSIGHTS
Housing costs continue to put pressure on households
The figures released by Statistics NZ last month (for year ended June 2024), were a hard read.
The numbers show that over half (55.2%) of NZ renters felt that their income was ‘not enough’ or ‘only just enough’ to meet their everyday needs in the year ended June 2024.
The figures also showed that nearly one-in-10 of total New Zealand households are now in "material hardship", meaning they are going without six or more items people regard as essential (such as putting off doctor’s visits, going without fresh fruit and vegetables, and putting up with feeling cold).
It can be easy to slip through the net if there’s simply not enough to go around, and for too many women and their children- that can mean becoming homeless.
Our research Ngā Ara ki te Kāinga: Understanding Barriers and Solutions to Women’s Homelessness shows that many severely housing deprived women are sole parenting and that severely housing deprived women are more likely to have children than severely housing deprived men.
“To be honest, home is my children, and I don’t have that right now. So my ideal dream home is just at least the three bedroom with a yard ... so they can play. And just somewhere where it’s safe,” said a woman who took part in our research.
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
