Posts Tagged ‘homeless’

How to end rough sleeping and begging in Auckland city

Monday, September 18th, 2023
rough sleeping and begging

Heart of the City and the City Centre Residents Group say it’s time for recent investment in housing and support services to bring an end to rough sleeping and begging on our city centre streets. This is a critical time to act and deliver on a significant opportunity for our city. We now have purpose-built Read more

Pope’s trip to Mongolia about charity not conversion

Thursday, September 7th, 2023

The Pope’s historic four-day visit to Mongolia ended on Monday amidst discussions about charity. Pope Francis’ main purpose in visiting Mongolia was to visit its tiny Catholic community. He completed his trip with a stop to tour and inaugurate the House of Mercy. The House of Mercy provides health care to the most needy in Read more

Homeless help humanitarian effort in Ukraine

Monday, September 4th, 2023

A group of homeless men joined “the pope’s team,” on 30 August and helped to unload a truck full of humanitarian supplies for Ukraine. The following day they received a personal thanks from Pope Francis. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner confirmed that the Pope was aware of the men’s hard work. “I asked them Read more

Young French Catholics share a roof with the homeless

Monday, September 19th, 2022

The French Catholic Church is much diminished. Yet French Catholicism remains a powerful creative force. The Lazarus Association is one expression of its continuing inventiveness. The organization is pioneering a new approach to homelessness that has transformed the lives of hundreds of people, won papal approval, and spread across Europe. It began in 2006, when Read more

Increasing need for meals Compassion Soup Kitchen

Thursday, August 26th, 2021
soup kitchen

The Compassion Soup Kitchen in Wellington has added more staff to help meet a 54 percent increase in people needing meals. During the 2020 lockdown, the Soup Kitchen distributed an average of 153 takeaway meals per day. This year the number of takeaway meals began at 190 and by Monday it had risen to 235. Read more

Homeless Jesus: responding to those in need

Monday, June 21st, 2021
homeless jesus

Copies of the Homeless Jesus statue have spread around the world in the last eight years. The statue is a life-sized representation of a person lying asleep on a public bench. The image is the creation of Canadian artist and sculptor Tim Schmalz, who specialises in art addressing religious themes. He presents the sleeping figure Read more

From sleeping rough and carrying a knife for protection to aiming for home ownership

Thursday, March 25th, 2021

When Hine Joseph was 18 years old, she was living on the street and carrying a penknife for protection. Three years later, she is securely housed in a flat managed by VisionWest Community Trust, in West Auckland, and says her biggest goal is finding a regular job and, one day, moving into a place she Read more

Focus on what is necessary rather than pious denials

Thursday, February 25th, 2021
Social Development Goals

A New Zealand religious leader is calling on members of his congregation to focus on what is necessary for life rather than being caught up with pious denials; particularly during Lent. He says he was cheered by a recent reading at Mass where a group is bewailing the fact that their “good deeds” go unnoticed Read more

Number joining NZ’s public housing waitlist triples in a month

Monday, July 27th, 2020

The number of people struggling to keep a roof over their head appears to be spiralling, and could be driving further overcrowding. In May, the number of applicants on the public housing waitlist hit 17,982 – an increase of 1271 on the previous month. That was triple the average monthly increase of 448 in the Read more

A homeless man bluffed his way into a five-star isolation hotel

Thursday, June 18th, 2020

A homeless man bluffed his way into a five-star isolation hotel in Auckland, National MP Michael Woodhouse has claimed. The opposition health spokesman made the claim during an interview on The AM Show on Thursday morning. Read more