An Auckland mother has spent the night sleeping in her car after she turned down emergency housing because she wouldn't be allowed visitors.
Lynnese Jones hasn't always been homeless. She was living in a flat, but a rent increase meant she could no longer afford it and she was forced out.
"I had nowhere to go. Nobody wanted me to stay with them," she says.
Ms Jones has a one-year-old son whom she cares for full-time.
The Ministry of Social Development put the pair up in a motel until they could find transitional housing - the step after emergency accommodation. It presented her with two offers, but Ms Jones turned them both down because the organisation that runs them had a strict no-visitors policy and she felt uncomfortable there.
"I recently lost somebody and I need my family around me, my sisters," she says.
Strive Community Trust, which operates the accommodation, told Newshub it doesn't allow visitors in order to protect those staying there, particularly children. The ministry agrees with the policy.
"Our providers are supporting a range of clients and have to think about the needs of everyone staying there," says MSD Housing deputy chief executive Scott Gallacher. "People coming and going constantly can be disruptive, and in some cases a risk to people's safety."
But Auckland Action Against Poverty says that's unacceptable for a young, solo mother like Ms Jones.
"That is not appropriate housing for a young woman with a young child. This is appalling," says AAAP's Alastair Russell.
Because Ms Jones refused both offers, MSD stopped paying for her motel.
"Her continued stay in a motel paid for by MSD and ultimately taxpayers is simply unacceptable," says Mr Gallacher.
Last night Ms Jones packed up her things and drove to her estranged mother's home in south Auckland, where her little boy slept overnight. She had planned to park up at a Work and Income office in protest of her situation, but her car broke down and she was forced to park on the street.
Now she's hoping to work with MSD this week to find a new place she's happy with.
"I'm trying my hardest as a mum to get us in a safe environment where I feel comfortable and happy," she says.
MSD is urging Ms Jones to reconsider its offer of temporary accommodation with Strive Community Trust, so at least she and her son can have a roof over their heads.
"We hope that any advice this client is receiving helps her to consider the longer term support our transitional providers give, with the ultimate goal of getting her into long-term sustainable accommodation," says Mr Gallacher.
Ms Jones isn't sure what she'll do long-term, but for now plans to sleep in her car until she can find somewhere more suitable.
Newshub.
