Whare Āhuru

17/03/2026

Collaboration is what real solutions look like.

When community comes together, we create pathways, not barriers. The answers to homelessness already exist within our communities; they just need to be backed and supported.

We’re proud to be working alongside Twenty20 Sustainable Housing Trust showing what’s possible when we move as one 🫶

A Home of Hope for Solo Mothers - When a landlord chooses to be the change we want to see

13/03/2026

Supporting our rangatahi works best when we work together.

Too many young people are navigating housing instability without the support they need, and it is clear that no single service can address this alone.

There is always talk about needing solutions to homelessness. If we truly want solutions, we must also recognise and strengthen the work that is already happening on the ground. Here in Kirikiriroa, services are collaborating every day to support rangatahi, and this work deserves to be recognised supported, resourced, and expanded.

Mana Services is only one of the amazing organisations in our community doing this essential mahi right now

Being part of Manaaki Rangatahi, we are already working together to support rangatahi experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. By sharing knowledge, coordinating support, and making timely referrals, we are helping young people access safe housing, stability, and the right wraparound supports.

Let’s continue strengthening our networks so that no rangatahi has to navigate these challenges alone.

Manaaki Rangatahi ki Waikato - Ending Youth homelessness through collective impact and collaboration

26/02/2026

We are outraged with the recently announced move on orders that will impact many of our kainga kore whanau in urban areas across Aotearoa, lets remember that many places across the country do not have any supported youth housing which we encourage the government to consider when issuing such legislation without the necessary resources that should be available to those living without safe, warm, dry shelter- we can do better,.

No where internationally that has had move on orders for those who are rough sleeping or begging solved homelessness.

Please read and share our press statement far and wide with your hapori and organisations.🙏🏾🙏🏾



PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE
23rd February 2026

National Advocates Warn: Move On Orders Are a Fast Track to Prison, Not Housing

Across Aotearoa New Zealand, at least 112,500 people are severely housing deprived, and a national youth homelessness collective says new move on order powers will make the crisis worse, not better.
The Government recently announced that it will give police power to issue move-on orders, including for rough sleeping and “behaviour indicating an intent to inhabit a public place.” The orders will apply to anyone aged 14 or older.

Manaaki Rangatahi, a national youth homelessness collective currently partnering with Mā Te Huruhuru on youth street outreach in Auckland, says this effectively criminalises being young and having nowhere to go, and is calling on the Government to replace enforcement with a fully funded National Youth Homelessness Strategy.

“Move on orders do not move youth on to safety. They move them further underground, further from help, and further from any real chance at stability,” said Bianca Johanson, Pou Ārahi of Manaaki Rangatahi. “These are not adults who have fallen on hard times. These are our young people.”

The Government’s own Homelessness Insights report, released June 2025, shows the situation is deteriorating rapidly. The number of people living without shelter has increased since the 2023 Census estimate of 4,965, and emergency housing applications declined jumped from 4% in March 2024 to 32% in March 2025. Oranga Tamariki has separately confirmed that young people leaving care are finding it “increasingly difficult” to access emergency accommodation, noting that existing services are oversubscribed, under-resourced, and built for adults, not rangatahi.

Johanson says trust is the foundation of everything the organisation does, and enforcement destroys it. “When the state responds to a young person’s visible presence in public with a fine, it sends one message: you are a problem to be moved, not a person to be supported. That drives young people away from the very services that could save them.”

Police Minister Mark Mitchell has said police will assess and determine what support is required “if any.” Manaaki Rangatahi says that framing is deeply concerning. The Government’s own data shows the most common reason people are homeless is family or relationship breakdown, followed by loss of employment, legal issues, mental health and addiction, and domestic abuse. These are not situations resolved by being told to move a reasonable distance away.

Manaaki Rangatahi is calling for duty-to-assist legislation requiring every government agency, including Oranga Tamariki, youth justice facilities and hospitals, to support those experiencing homelessness to find suitable housing. “Housing is a right, not a fight,” Johanson said. “We are ready to work alongside the Government to build real solutions, but young people cannot wait.”

For media enquiries contact:
Bee/Bianca Johanson
Pou Ārahi, Manaaki Rangatahi
[email protected]
021 263 6209

24/02/2026

The recent announcement by this Government raises serious concerns for those of us working directly alongside rangatahi experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
Being told to “move on” is not a solution and is for some, their daily reality.

Mana Services does not support and strongly opposes the introduction of new “move on” laws.

Rangatahi who are sleeping rough, couch surfing, or living in unsafe environments are not choosing this life.
They are navigating complex challenges including family breakdown, care and protection histories, trauma, mental health distress, poverty, and systemic barriers to housing.

Without safe, affordable, and accessible housing options to move into, these laws will simply further displace our most vulnerable from one visible location to another.
This does not reduce homelessness, it is an attempt to push it out of site.

In Aotearoa, we lack legislation that requires government organisations to provide meaningful housing pathways.
We support Manaaki Rangatahi and agree that Duty to Assist legislation must be adopted. Expanding enforcement powers without strengthening obligations to house and support vulnerable rangatahi risks worsening inequity rather than addressing it.

Through our Rangatahi Housing Support Services and community collectives we see every day what works:
▪️Early intervention and whānau-centred responses
▪️Youth-specific housing pathways ▪️Trauma-informed and culturally grounded practice
▪️Intensive navigation and advocacy support ▪️Strong cross-sector partnerships

Real solutions require:
▪️Investment in youth-specific housing supply ▪️Long-term funding for navigation and wraparound services
▪️Cross-sector collaboration
▪️Policy settings that centre on dignity, safety and opportunity

We have the solutions. What is needed is investment and a government willing to listen to the organisations doing the mahi on the ground.

Rangatahi deserve more than being told to move on. They deserve somewhere safe to move into and the support to build a future.

24/07/2025

🌿🧶HaututuThursdays 🎨🪢

Creating a space where our rangatahi can come together to connect, kōrero, and learn through creativity.

Today marks the beginning of our new weekly kaupapa—designed to bring purpose to each day of the week.
Thursdays we do this through expressive and engaging mahi toi

Rangatahi are encouraged to explore creativity in their own way

Conversations flow naturally as ideas, stories, and aspirations are shared.

Learning happens through doing: whether it’s arts, design, or collaborative projects.

This kaupapa is all about purposeful engagement, building confidence, community, identity and belonging - one creative session at a time.✨️

24/07/2025

PRESS RELEASE

Housing is a Human Right: Manaaki Rangatahi Calls for Values Change in Wake of MHUD Homelessness Report

The recent report released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD) reinforces what many of us on the ground already know — Aotearoa is in a housing crisis that continues to fail our most vulnerable, particularly our rangatahi.

Manaaki Rangatahi, a systems change group is calling on Government to take this report as a call to action — for deep, transformative change that honours Te Tiriti O Waitangi and housing as a fundamental human right.

“This housing crisis hasn't happened overnight, but it has been made way harder with the policy choices of this government,” says Brooke Stanley, spokesperson for Manaaki Rangatahi. “Rangatahi and families in our communities are not just statistics. They are people navigating compounding layers of disconnection, displacement and trauma in a system that has deprioritised their wellbeing. The decisions and leadership about all of us required right now must be rooted in courage, compassion, and sharing.”

The report’s findings, including the estimated number of people living without shelter are not surprising to those working alongside whānau experiencing homelessness every day. In many regions, support services are overwhelmed and underfunded, with few pathways into safe, secure and appropriate housing — particularly for rangatahi Māori, care-experienced youth, and those facing discrimination due to gender, sexuality, disability or migration status.

“Transforming homelessness requires us to protect public housing — but it's also about building a nation rooted in manaakitanga, equity, and justice for communities that have always been underserved by the crown. Our young people and people living here in frontline communities most impacted by these policies deserve to be seen and served. We are all deserving of belonging, conditions that support our flourishing, and to know we are not forgotten.”

"We stand firm in the belief that the solutions already exist — within communities, within whānau, and within the wisdom of rangatahi themselves. What’s needed now is the political will and values-driven leadership to act boldly, together. If we are to prevent and end youth homelessness, we must also look to address the structural inequities that give rise to homelessness in the first place.

ENDS

Contact: Brooke Stanley
Spokesperson, Manaaki Rangatahi
027 516 1653

20/07/2025

We are looking for a Team Lead to join the team.

Are you an inspiring leader?
Are you wanting to make a difference?

Lead our Rangatahi Housing Support team with passion, fostering wellbeing, Te Ao Māori values, quality, and strong relationships. Join us!

09/07/2025

What a awesome day out with awesome rangatahi✨️🌻

We kicked things off with a korero alongside the amazing Urshula from the Electoral Commission — learning all about enrolling to vote, how the voting process works, and of course getting ourcown enrolements sorted.

A tour into the Hamilton City Council to check out where decisions are made and learn more about local council.

Empowering rangatahi with this knowledge is so important!

Next stop: the Youth Health Expo in Hamilton! 🎉 What and buzzing space full of energy, inspiration, and important conversations around health and wellbeing.

A fabulous day full of learning, laughter, and meaningful connections.

Big thanks to everyone involved for creating such a positive experience for our rangatahi

30/05/2025

We receive a number of referrals for young people in need of housing being discharged from mental health facilities with hope that things will work out.

What they really need is not just a bed — they need an integrated, wrap-around support system that acknowledges and responds to their complex mental health needs.
Right now, it's like a "tag and release" process — and it's failing them.

Youth housing providers are not mental health facilities. We do our best, but without adequate support, resources, shared information, or robust safety planning, we are not equipped to manage high-risk situations alone.
We need:
🌱 Better access to ongoing mental health support
🌱Open and transparent sharing of critical information
🌿Collaborative, long-term safety and recovery plans
🍀A system that follows through, not one that hands off

Rangatahi deserve better. We all do.
Let’s work together to create a system that actually supports healing — not one that just passes the responsibility on.

Some patients have spent years in the Waikato mental health facility as health bosses point to a lack of housing and support on the outside.

29/05/2025

This month’s Manaaki Rangatahi ki Waikato hui brought together our dedicated collective once again 💜

A space for whanaungatanga, reflection, and driving meaningful change for our rangatahi.

We were privileged to have Tui from the University of Waikato (Te Ngira – Institute for Population Research) join us to facilitate kōrero as part of ongoing rangahau into the real-life challenges and successes we experience in our mahi.

Together, we shared deep and honest whakaaro around the barriers our rangatahi face when accessing support. What’s working, what’s not, along with our collective aspirations for a system that truly responds to the needs of our young people

As always, the wairua of collective impact was strong in the room.

We know that no one organisation can do this alone – it is only by working together, sharing lived experience and expertise, and holding space for authentic partnership that we can create real transformation.
Manaaki Rangatahi

24/05/2025

This week is youth week 2025 in Aotearoa, to acknowledge youth week the coalition government has given further hardship and sanctions to rangatahi who struggle still to find work. Eat, live and survive. So far, we have seen no clear solution focussed strategy regarding youth housing in areas of Aotearoa that have none eg, Napier/ Hastings/Rotorua/Tauranga/Dunedin/ Invercargill/Northland including Muriwhenua.🏡

MANAAKI Rangatahi are disheartened and frustrated with a lack of strategy or legislation or funding that addresses rangatahi who are HOMELESS in Aotearoa.

DOES OUR GOVERNMENT WANT TO PREVENT AND END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS???

Please share far and wide the following Manaaki Rangatahi press release in regards to 2025 from Nicola Willis MP .

We call on again; Christopher Luxon Tama Potaka Chris Bishop to hui with us to advise and korero to our collective youth housing sector representatives to find emergency, urgent and critically needed solutions that address rangatahi sleeping rough, in cars and without shelter in Aotearoa. We are waiting. We are tired.

Budget 2025: A Call For Manaakitanga To Be Reflected In Budget 2025

Manaakitanga - a principle that should underpin our budgets, leadership and policies - calls for compassion, care, and the collective responsibility to each other be at the heart of all that comes from the kawanatanga space.

Budget 2025 is a budget that delivers for businesses, at the expense of frontline communities. At a time when whānau across the motu continue to experience the compounding impacts of poverty, homelessness, and systemic inequality the cuts to emergency housing, Best Start Payment and Kiwisaver aren’t aligned with what most of us in Aotearoa want for our families and communities.

"Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a living agreement that sets out the foundation for our relationships here in Aotearoa” says Brooke Stanley, spokesperson at Manaaki Rangatahi. “When budget decisions consistently fail to reflect the needs and aspirations of Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti, they breach the spirit and intent of Te Tiriti.”

We know that our whānau of five million, many of whom mobilised and showed up for Toitū Te Tiriti means most of us want what's best for all of us - we want rangatahi and whānau to live well and have what we need to care for ourselves. We want our frontline essential services to be culturally informed and fit for purpose. We want our relationship with the whenua and moana to be one of guardianship and custodianship.

Now more than ever, we need leadership that reflects manaakitanga and lives up to the promises of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - leadership that protects, that cares, includes, and shares what's needed in communities, in a rapidly changing world.

Manaaki Rangatahi calls on the Government to re-centre its decisions around the wellbeing of people, the strength of communities, and the commitments embedded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We cannot build a just, thriving and united Aotearoa without it.

END

Contact: Brooke Stanley
E: [email protected]
M: 027 516 1653