{"id":470656,"date":"2026-06-10T18:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/470656\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T18:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:39:15","slug":"new-report-finds-over-1700-northland-kids-living-in-severe-housing-deprivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/470656\/","title":{"rendered":"New report finds over 1700 Northland kids living in severe housing deprivation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust manager Ange Tepania said the findings are \u201cconcerning but not surprising\u201d for Te Tai Tokerau. <\/p>\n

The figures \u201creflect the reality that many local providers see every day\u201d, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHousing insecurity can have significant short and long-term impacts on children and young people, affecting their health, wellbeing, education and sense of stability.\u201d <\/p>\n

The findings also show children and young people experiencing housing deprivation face \u201csignificantly higher rates of harm\u201d in their lives. <\/p>\n

They are nearly three times more likely to have experienced abuse, more likely to disengage from education, are more likely to interact with the justice system and have poorer health outcomes than other children. <\/p>\n

Children under 5 are likely to experience preventable hospitalisations, including respiratory illness and preventable disease, the report says.<\/p>\n

Wellington Homeless Women\u2019s Trust chairwoman Dr Jo Cribb, a Coalition to End Women\u2019s Homelessness member, said every child had a right to grow up in a safe, secure home. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are babies, toddlers and young people who are carrying the weight of housing insecurity at a critical stage of their development, with consequences that can shape the rest of their lives,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The Ministry of Social Development\u2019s social housing register showed 1020 Northland families with an A or B housing priority<\/a> \u2013 a serious housing need \u2013 as of March 2026. <\/p>\n

Ng\u0101ti Hine Health Trust chief executive Tamati Shepherd-Wipiiti said 61 adults and 54 children were registered as homeless with the health trust and Ministry of Social Development, mostly in Whang\u0101rei.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see those numbers on our books and across Northland. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know from our data the heightened likelihood of health conditions like respiratory issues and skin disease, and kids not attending school.\u201d <\/p>\n

Shepherd-Wipiiti said the trust was \u201ctrying to get women and bubbas out of sheds and into homes\u201d by prioritising the group. <\/p>\n

That included the social housing development in Moerewa aimed at addressing critical housing shortages in Te Tai Tokerau<\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n

\"TaiTai Tokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust manager Ange Tepania says the report\u2019s findings are concerning but not surprising.<\/p>\n

The Marohapa project features 35 sustainable, quality rental units and a community wellness centre for vulnerable wh\u0101nau. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen the benefits already where kids are attending school. Putting them in a warm dry house has worked.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Coalition to End Women\u2019s Homelessness is urging the Government to improve access to gender-based data so policymakers and housing and social service providers can make better-informed investment decisions. <\/p>\n

It also wants the Government to apply the data to homelessness responses, and to create a women\u2019s housing strategy that better protects women and their children. <\/p>\n

Shepherd-Wipiiti said the trust had \u201crequested multiple times\u201d for another 10 rental spaces under its Housing First contract, which is capped at 60 places in Whang\u0101rei. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had another 10 we would get all the mums and bubs out of cars. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are under-resourced in Whang\u0101rei to service our young people and mums.\u201d <\/p>\n

Tepania said long-term solutions required greater access to affordable housing and support services that help wh\u0101nau achieve lasting housing stability, \u201cbecause every child deserves a secure place to call home and the opportunity to thrive\u201d. <\/p>\n

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust manager Ange Tepania said the findings are \u201cconcerning but not surprising\u201d for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[237943,1061,70199,84,17515,23285,11424,134,3339,43300,78,1899,4188,48425,130,117,111,43,139,1067,69,1523,384,1560,2848,131,165,1297,1533,4741],"class_list":["post-470656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-237943","tag-children","tag-deprivation","tag-education","tag-experience","tag-experiencing","tag-finds","tag-health","tag-housing","tag-impacts","tag-in","tag-kids","tag-living","tag-longterm","tag-more","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-nz","tag-over","tag-people","tag-report","tag-severe","tag-than","tag-their","tag-wellbeing","tag-will","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}