In September 2022, the Inquiry issued a public call asking those with experience of the emergency housing system to contact us and share their stories, experiences, and perspectives. People could email or phone us, and we also launched a dedicated website where people could share their stories. In some cases, we were able to sit down face to face or engage directly over Zoom/Teams. “We’ve been in emergency for nearly four years. I live in a small studio, with a bar fridge, malfunctioning freezer, one chair and table and share a bed with my kids. We look like hoarders, our bathroom is our storage because one wardrobe fits next to nothing. Our room has no ventilation whatsoever, so it’s either really hot or really cold.” [Resident in emergency accommodation] We heard from those currently in the system, those who have moved through it into longer-term housing, from service providers and advocates, and from people outside the system – family members, friends, people living near emergency housing, and others. What we have heard overall is distressing. In many respects it was clear that, despite its good intent, the system had failed those who most needed help. Instead of supporting people through housing insecurity and back into sustainable solutions, emergency accommodation and transitional housing can create or exacerbate problems and trauma that continue to affect people long after they have left the system. Quality, conditions, and access to essential facilities We heard from existing and former residents about the poor habitability of both emergency accommodation and transitional housing, and the lack of access to essential facilities such as cooking and laundry. “[My family members] were moved to a motel which was filthy and had no cooking facilities in the room … their next room fortunately had cooking facilities, but the condition was absolutely disgusting with holes in the walls, vomit and food on the walls, mouldy curtains which affects [child’s] asthma. The door doesn’t lock properly and several times has had to be left unlocked. This has all been reported several times and to date nothing has been repaired.” [Family member of resident in emergency accommodation] “The conditions of the property were bad. The place was full of cockroaches, she experienced cockroaches crawling across her face in her room and in the kitchen.” [Former resident of emergency accommodation] Multiple residents raised concerns about the condition of their housing causing health issues, especially for their children. “My kids get sick nearly every second week. My eldest [child] has been in hospital twice due to our hotel situation and now has asthma.” [Resident in emergency accommodation] We heard a lot about the inadequacy of motelbased emergency accommodation. Clear themes included: • Lack of basic facilities. Some motel accommodation did not include even the most basic cooking facilities in the room, while others provided facilities fundamentally inappropriate for the length of stay (e.g. bar fridges, a single hot plate). • Extremely poor quality, sometimes to the extent that it created serious health or safety issues for residents. Damage caused by previous residents was often not fixed, and some people were given rooms that had not been adequately cleaned after the previous resident had left. 23