It beggars belief that we’re still doing this to people clawing their way off welfare

The government’s refusal to take up recommendations by the Welfare Advisory Group that would have incentivised people on a benefit in seeking part-time work is bizarre and mean-spirited, writes Moira Lawler of Lifewise Who would work for $2 an hour? That’s what vulnerable people returning to work after long periods living on the margins are … Read more

‘We’re not here to judge your lifestyle, we’re here to make sure you’re housed’

Russell Brown talks to Moira Lawler of Lifewise Trust about Housing First, a programme designed to get the most vulnerable homeless people into stable accommodation irrespective of mental or physical wellbeing or any history of substance abuse A while ago, Moira Lawler got a concerned call from Wellington. Something bad had happened with a Housing First tenant … Read more

‘Digging the hole and filling it up forever’: the search for a fix to the homeless crisis

Blaming homelessness on bad choices misses the core of the problem  – we created the circumstances that allow such deprivation to flourish, Moira Lawler of Lifewise tells the Spinoff. Images of families living in cars and dilapidated garages thrust the plight of homeless people into headlines in 2016. One of the groups at the sharp … Read more