A new trial by the government will see those stuck in emergency housing offered wraparound services to try to support them into more permanent accommodation.
It is part of the coalition's target to reduce the number of people in emergency housing by 75 percent by 2030.
The two-year trial announced on Wednesday by Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka was aimed at those who have been in emergency housing for more than 12 months.
The government was trialling a "social investment approach" Potaka said in a statement, "to support single people and couples who don't have children living with them, starting with those who have been in emergency housing for more than 12 months".
It would support up to 100 people with complex needs with wraparound services. Those could include enrolment in primary health care, budgeting, employment, and counselling services, support to open bank accounts and manage a tenancy agreement, gaining a driver licence, or re-engaging with family and community support.
"The trial provides wraparound support tailored to each individual, recognising that people who have been in emergency housing for extended periods of time can have complex housing and support needs.
"It will be up to the service providers to determine how best to support each client in the trial."
Tama Potaka and Wellington City Mission's Murray Edridge. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Eligible households would include those not already registered for another housing support service administered by the Ministry of Social Development, Potaka said.
Wellington City Mission and Emerge Aotearoa in Waikato were the first organisations to take part in the trial.
Murray Edridge of the Wellington City Mission told media he had opposed emergency housing for "a long time" because of the lack of support for those using it, "so they don't leave better than they came… I suspect they leave worse."
"This initiative gives us the opportunity to work a bit more creatively with those people to support them to make good decisions, support them in a creative way to try and find different alternatives and get them into a different housing situation.
"It's working very closely with them to determine what they need, and what's best for them… What are the challenges? Are they challenges around connections with whānau, are they challenges around mental health or addiction, is it challenges around work? … Housing will not be the only solution that works for them, we know that, and putting people into permanent housing is only part of the issue."
Potaka said an important element of the trial was to "determine whether this approach is effective in helping people with complex needs get into a home and, just as important, successfully stay in that home".
"This will mean future approaches and services will be able to respond earlier and avoid people having long stays in emergency housing wherever possible."
Earlier this year the government signalled it would tighten up the eligibility criteria for emergency housing, with a focus on getting children into more stable homes. That had seen hundreds of families move out of emergency accommodation.
Potaka said the first focus in achieving the target was to move "whānau with tamariki out of emergency housing motels and into more stable housing through our Priority One policy".
Murray Edridge of the Wellington City Mission. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
"We've had solid success with Priority One, which has seen 726 households, including 1452 tamariki, moved from emergency housing into social housing since its introduction in April up to 30 September 2024."
Speaking to media, Potaka said they knew where about 80 percent of departing emergency housing users were going, up from 50 percent.
While people did not have to tell providers where they were going, Potaka said there remained "genuine concern" some were going back into homelessness.
Edridge said the City Mission and Emerge Aotearoa were being trusted to deliver what was needed, rather than just doing what the government told them.
"This is an opportunity where the government have said, 'We trust you as a provider - because of your track record - to do some things a wee bit differently and be innovative in how you approach the issues.' so that is different,that is new, and I hope will enable us to make real progress with some of the people who have been in emergency housing for way too long."
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