Rotorua’s homeless community will be the focus of several census engagement events over the next month.

The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings is the official count of the people and dwellings in New Zealand.

The 2018 census was criticised for its poor participation levels, and as such, there was poorer data quality for some aspects.

This year, the census will be held on March 7, but became live on February 13.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust chief executive Karen Vercoe previously shared how the outcome of the last census was a “setback” for Māori data and impacted on things such as funding Te Aka Whai Ora/Māori Health Authority.

Census data is used in many ways, including for developing and implementing policies and planning, as well as decisions on services such as healthcare, education, housing and transport.

In the next few weeks, several events will be held to engage with Rotorua’s transient and homeless whānau in emergency accommodation.

More community engagement was a direct result of the last census to improve participation.

Rangimarie Bidois is the Stats NZ Census 2023 area manager for Rotorua, Matamata, Tokoroa and Morrinsville, and she said this year’s census aimed to be the most inclusive yet.

“This means making sure everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand is counted, no matter where they live or stay.”

It was therefore running the events to support residents in social, emergency and transitional housing to ensure they were counted, she said.

“To do this, we have developed a relationship with Te Hau ki te Kainga based at Te Pokapū [Rotorua Housing Collective] and are working with several service providers across Rotorua.

Its approach was to work with the people in the community who already held trusted relationships with the people it wanted to support, she said.

“It is crucial that our whānau in this demographic are counted. They are members of our community, and it is vital they are supported. Tatau tātou – all of us count.”

With the last census resulting in poor data for some variables, she said that was why this year’s census and these events were “vital” for getting data that supported all communities.

Asked how emergency housing residents are impacted by the things the census data informed, she said iwi, community groups, local and central government and businesses use it to make decisions about funding and providing services. This included housing.

“When everyone in Rotorua is counted, they will be represented in the data about our community.

“That means that decisions can be made about services for our community that meet the needs of our people.”

She asked people to take care of the census collectors, who were whānau and community members.

Visions of a Helping Hand Charitable Trust is among the providers participating in the event.

Chief executive Tiny Deane said it first worked with census staff in November last year through the Te Hau ki te Kainga collective with the intent to build client engagement.

The planned activities and events aimed to motivate whānau to complete census forms.

He said whānau can be supported by data collectors to complete these, and Visions will host and support Assisted Collection Events (ACE), creating a “supportive and fun” environment.

Deane said Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) providers were part of the census priority group, so that long-term support can be provided to those suffering housing deprivation by making their data visible to Government agencies.

He said it planned for census staff to go to one of its contracted housing sites on February 21.

All clients were welcome to attend, and census staff would be putting on a barbecue while informing said clients and increasing their understanding of the purpose and importance of the census.

“We have a dedicated contact person within the census staff and are discussing with them the possibility of replicating this event at other Visions CEH sites to engage more whānau.”

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said participating in the census helped provide a clearer picture of what Rotorua families and communities needed.

“Ensuring that we have the best up-to-date information is key so that we can plan well for now and the future.”

She said for organisations such as councils, the information collected can help them understand the current situation of communities so they can make better decisions that deliver positive social and economic outcomes.

Census collectors will be out in the community soon to support people with completing it. While Census Day is on March 7, it can be completed as soon as you receive a form.

It can be completed either online or on paper.

Te Aka Whai Ora did not respond by deadline.

- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air