Our 5-year research programme, funded by the MBIE Endeavour Research Programme fund, has brought together world-leading experts to ensure that Aotearoa’s housing support system is sustainable, effective, and whānau-centred.
Why this research and why now?
No place is more important to tamariki and rangatahi than their home. Yet, each night in Aotearoa, more than 7,000 young people experience homelessness. A similar number of children are separated from their parents because of housing difficulties and over 400,000 are in housing supported by the government.
Our current housing support systems are focused on adults. There is a gap in the research looking at how our housing support systems can best ensure the wellbeing of children and young people, helping set them on pathways for future prosperity and success as adults.
The evidence from this programme will be used to innovate, advocate and inform a new, equitable housing support system grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi that provides holistic, long-term outcomes for children and youth.
The impacts of housing on young people: What we already know
Our previous research has looked at the ways that our poor-quality, unaffordable, housing harms family’s health and wellbeing.
We know that family disconnection due to housing instability has negative impacts on belonging and whanaungatanga. Supportive relationships with parents, whānau, and the wider community are important protective factors for children and young people.
If you, a friend, or whānau member has been asked about participating in our research
Thanks for considering being involved in our research. Please take the time to think through whether you would like to be involved and do reach out if you’re keen to be involved or have any questions.
We want to highlight the voices of young people who have faced housing struggles and listen to what you see as some of the solutions to our big housing problems. We are interested in what it’s like for young people when they have problems with their housing, and we want to be able to tell the government and support organisations how things could be improved, to make sure that the difficulties faced by many young people today don’t continue for kids in the future.
If you’re interested, your first port of call will be contacting the team member whose contact details you have been given, or you can reach out to Nevil Pierse (contact details below) for general questions or enquiries.
Who we are
This programme brings together world-leading experts on housing, communities, big data and children, and young people. We have partnered with housing service providers around the motu, from Kirikiriroa to Ōtautahi.
For further information about our research programme, please contact Professor Nevil Pierse [email protected].