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The number of people sleeping rough in Auckland’s city centre has more than doubled from 68 in 2013 to 177 in 2016. And this isn’t a problem confined to the city centre – it’s a significant issue across the Auckland region. New Zealanders pride ourselves on being caring and inclusive people. Having people sleeping rough in Auckland's city parks, under bridges, in shop entrances and back alleyways is unacceptable from a humanitarian and business perspective. As a society – government, local government, businesses, residents and community organisations – we can and must do more to urgently address this growing problem.Housing First is a homeless assistance approach that provides people experiencing homelessness with permanent housing as quickly as possible – and then providing connections to the community-based support services that people need in order to keep their housing and avoid returning to homelessness. Auckland Council is proud to be working with Heart of the City (link is external) and partnering with central Government and the Auckland Housing First Collective* to bring Housing First to Auckland in 2017.Join this conversation to hear from ​Dr Sam Tsemberis founder of Pathways to Housing in New York City and designer of the consumer-driven evidence based Housing First model. Pathways to Housing is based on the belief that housing is a human right. Drawing on his extensive experience, Dr Tsemberis will share his insights on how to end chronic homelessness in Auckland using the Housing First approach.