Wellington City Council’s Kōrau Mātiniti Social, Cultural and Economic Committee today approved $460,000 in funding to establish the Homelessness Coordination Service, which will be led by the three frontline agencies working with some of the city’s most vulnerable communities.
Mayor Tory Whanau says the initiative seeks to build a more connected, compassionate, and effective support system for those facing homelessness.
“Critically, this approach will improve access to support during evenings and weekends – periods when vulnerable individuals are often most at risk and services are typically least available.
“To better address the challenges of homelessness, this new approach will make our support system much more agile and the care we provide far more consistent,” adds Mayor Whanau.
The City Council co-designed the new service with its partners: Downtown Community Ministry (DCM), Wellington City Mission, and He Herenga Kura.
The initiative aims to improve collective coordination for the most complex cases of the estimated 30 people experiencing chronic homelessness in and around the central city.
The Committee Chair, Cr Teri O’Neill, says this initiative is about removing barriers that prevent whanau from accessing stable, safe housing, not about shifting people on.
“It’s about honouring the mana of those experiencing homelessness by ensuring our systems work better, supporting frontline teams with the resources and coordination needed to provide compassionate, people centred care.
“We recognise the concerns about visible homelessness, but real progress comes from building trust, connection, and wrap-around support - not through enforcement or “banning people” to the next street over.”
Cr Geordie Rogers, who moved the paper at today’s meeting that outlined the new co-ordinated service, says it “brings together housing, health, and social support providers to work in partnership — aiming to streamline responses for the most complex cases, enable after-hours support when usual services close, and address systemic barriers through joint advocacy.”
City Council Senior Responsible Officer Sehai Orgad says despite sustained efforts across government and community sectors, local support for people experiencing chronic homelessness has been fragmented and under strain with agencies and frontline workers often left to operate in siloes “with limited ability to align effort, share insights, or escalate challenges. This results in people falling through the cracks.”
Ms Orgad says that, without coordination, there’ll be ongoing challenges in addressing the needs of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. “This will likely continue public concern around city safety and visible homelessness in the central city.
“These ongoing issues also have implications for the city’s broader economic and urban development goals, as perceptions of safety influence how people choose to engage with the central city — including impacts on foot traffic, retail activity, and business confidence.”
Ms Orgad says a coordinated approach will better deal with systemic issues such as lack of housing supply or access to health services and feed these into shared advocacy and planning efforts, helping the sector speak with a more unified voice.
Governance for the Homelessness Coordination Service will be provided by a partner agency leadership group representing the three ‘delivery partners’ and the Council. This group will meet monthly.