“If a family is, say, mum, two young kids, and two older kids who are over 18 and working but still living at home, the emergency system will say those older kids don’t qualify for emergency housing as part of the family. So mum and young kids can go into emergency but the older two have to find somewhere else to live, or go into the system separately. But then they will often have been working to help support the family financially, and now instead they’re living separately, paying separately for their own housing contribution, away from their family.” [Housing/benefit advocate] We also heard about the issues for young people/ rangatahi experiencing homelessness alone (i.e., not within a family group in the emergency housing system). These young people are particularly vulnerable, but there is currently no specific youth homelessness strategy.30 “Young people are going into emergency housing places that create seriously unsafe conditions… they’re housed alongside adults with complex needs and it creates opportunities for harassment.” [Youth homelessness advocate] As acknowledged by international literature, “providing youth-specific and appropriate housing options and supports can help prevent the occurrence or recurrence of homelessness.”31 There were concerns that children and young people experiencing the kind of dysfunction that the emergency housing system can create, would lead to long-term or generational harm that was extremely hard to resolve. Many people worried about the long-term effects on children living in emergency or transitional housing, and how this would compound over time. who don’t have a sense of belonging anywhere... They don’t know what it’s like to say, “I’m going home.” Babies are coming up on three years old and all they’ve ever known is a motel room.” [Housing/benefit advocate] We heard that for young people experiencing homelessness alone, the difficulty of navigating systems that were not designed for them, and without additional support, was overwhelming. “You want to be in your own house and you could get a social worker that helps you get in there, but then you don’t know what to do after that. And you just let the system do what the system does.” [Former youth resident of emergency accommodation] Safety, security, and access to necessary support Many people who reached out to us shared serious concerns about the safety and security of both emergency accommodation and transitional housing. In some cases, they shared distressing experiences of physical violence (both witnessed and experienced), harassment including sexual harassment and stalking, and illegal activity including drug dealing onsite. People told us about harassment coming from other residents as well as from site managers and security staff. “Someone was stabbed in my transitional home and I asked for a transfer. It was denied and I was told either stay in this house or move out. Me and my child lived in our car for 4-6 weeks.” [Former resident of emergency accommodation] “We have a whole generation of children now 25