Hon Marama Davidson

Associate Minister of Housing (Homelessness)

The Government is once again providing millions of dollars of support to community organisations working to address homelessness, the Associate Housing Minister, Marama Davidson announced today.

The Local Innovation and Partnership Fund (LIPF) supports local work and projects that respond to and prevent homelessness. Minister Davidson announced that the third round of funding will open on 1 November, with an additional $6.8 million available.

“Homelessness is not inevitable and it can be solved. This latest round of funding is the next step our Government is taking to do just that,” Marama Davidson said.

“Community organisations will have the opportunity to access an additional $6.8 million in Government support for local initiatives that work. This is in addition to the $10 million we have already allocated to community groups through the fund.

“Homelessness in Aotearoa did not happen overnight. It is the result of decades of underinvestment by previous governments. We are turning this around and supporting more people to find safe, secure places to live.

“Ending homelessness means getting to a place where it’s rare, brief, and gets solved appropriately and quickly when it does happen.

“That is achievable and something this Government is making progress towards, as was shown in the recent review of the Homeless Action Plan.

“We are building more affordable homes; supporting rangatahi and young people to find a safe, stable place to live; and supporting people when they are at risk of losing the home they rent.

“The Local Innovation and Partnership Fund is a key part of achieving our Homeless Action Plan. Since the fund was established in 2020, we have supported groups all over Aotearoa to develop innovative solutions that work for their communities.

“For this next round we want to see applications coming in from organisations working on new and innovative ways to address homelessness especially for communities that are more likely to experience discrimination and isolation.

“A safe home is the foundation on which our lives are built. Today is another next step in our plan to ensure everyone has a warm, safe, and secure place to live,” Marama Davidson said.

Notes

The Local Innovation and Partnership Fund was established in 2020 and is one of 18 actions set out in the Aotearoa/ New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan to support local initiatives to reduce and prevent homelessness.

The LIPF was designed to support Māori providers, hapū, iwi, community organisations, not for profit organisations and wider community partners to work collaboratively to reduce and prevent homelessness for whānau and individuals.

As part of the Homeless Action Plan, $16.6 million was committed over three years (2020 to 2023). Today’s announcement is for the third round of funding. Close to $10 million was allocated in the first two rounds of the fund with a total of 17 initiatives funded across New Zealand. The full list of round one and two recipients is available on the HUD website.

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