‘Street kids’ house plea

Press, 2 December 1982, Page 6

‘Street kids’ house plea

The "street kids" of Christchurch may have found a champion in the City Council for their efforts to' find accommodation under the Government's emergency housing scheme. The council's community services committee yesterday approved a recommendation that the council join the Catholic Social Services organisation and the Anglican City Mission in making an application on the young people's behalf. The committee also recommended that the council act as head tenant. The Catholic Social Services organisation and the City Mission have agreed to be ’sub-tenants.

A seven-member delegation consisting of youth workers and representatives of social service agencies attended the meeting to speak for the “street kids."

The house would be used to provide short-term accom-

modation for the "inappropriately housed young people" of Christchurch, and would be supervised by a married couple. they said. The council’s community adviser. Mr J. R. L. Fry, reported that although the emergency housing scheme was generally directed towards family’groups an exception of the kind asked for had been made in Auckland. The application would have more weight if the council supported it and if it acted as head tenant, he told the meeting. The council's director of housing and property. Mr K. R. McNeill, also recommended that the committee support the delegation's request. "The problem (homelessness among young people) is with us now and the procedure to obtain an emergency house should be started as soon as possible," he said. The council already had

five houses under. the scheme. It sub-let two of them to the Women's Refuge Centre Society, two to the Joint Anglican-Methodist Centre, and one to the New Zealand Home and Family Society. As head tenant, the council would be required to meet the cost of rates, insurance, and interior maintenanceabout $2OOO a year. The houses were rent free, he told the meeting. Mr McNeill said that, while no budget provision had been made for an extra unit this financial year, it was unlikely that many costs would be incurred before the end of March. 1983. Cr Helen Garrett asked the delegation for "solid evidence" that there were young people in Christchurch without homes.

A youth worker and a member of the group. Mr Eric Lowe, said that he knew of some personally but that it was difficult to assess the

size of the problem because the "street kid" population fluctuated daily. Cr C. E. Manning said that one emergency house would not answerd the need. It could deal with only a few people at any given time, he said.

Mr Lowe said that the house would be no more than "a starting point." The group was also considering longerterm solutions. Cr M. J. Glubb said that, while he agreed generally with the sentiments behind the recommendation, he did not know that the council should assume the financial responsibility of being the head tenant. However. Cr Audrey Barclay said thaMhat was not the' point at issue. It was not a question of the financial responsibility of the council but of a problem that needed a solution, she said. “Street k'ids” feature, Page 21-