Posts Tagged ‘homelessness’

Safe places needed for homeless to sleep

Monday, November 27th, 2023
homeless

There are more homeless people than ever, and safe places to sleep are both essential and in short supply. Dunedin’s Night Shelter Trust says immediate and long-term solutions are essential. The Night Shelter currently provides beds, bathroom and laundry facilities for six homeless people. It’s fundraising to provide for six more. That’s just a temporary Read more

Positive outcomes from social investment scheme

Thursday, November 23rd, 2023
social investment

An Auckland youth offending programme is hopeful ongoing funding will be available through a social bond investment. Its success to date has generated optimism for similar future investments under a National-led government. Since its inception six years ago, the Genesis Youth Trust-run programme has reduced youth offending notably. Compared to a similar risk group, participants Read more

Where shall I lay my head?

Thursday, November 16th, 2023
homeless

In recent days the home secretary of the UK, Suella Braverman, has described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice” while defending her decision to restrict the use of tents by homeless people on the streets of Britain. More than that, it is rumored that charitable organisations that supply tents to the homeless might themselves be Read more

Homelessness not a ‘lifestyle choice’ say charities

Thursday, November 9th, 2023

The Passage, based in Westminster, is among the charities that have refuted Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s controversial claim that rough sleepers were making a “lifestyle choice”. The Passage, which has Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols as patron, said: “The people we work with have not chosen to be on the streets; circumstances have put Read more

Orange Sky service saves homeless people’s dignity

Thursday, October 12th, 2023
Orange Sky

Homeless people account for about 42,000 New Zealanders and Doug and Krystal say the Orange Sky service is “so helpful” to them. They say great to know they can shower, wash their clothes and “have interesting chats”. Put another way, that’s nearly the same as the population of Whanganui, a couple of thousand fewer than Read more

The politics of poverty

Monday, July 24th, 2023
sleeping in cars

Last Thursday Chris Bishop MP asked the Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment about people sleeping in cars. It’s almost impossible to know, exactly, how many people sleep in cars. “None”, would be the best answer. But this isn’t a “best answer” world. One measure is how many people on the Housing Register (essentially Read more

Auckland’s homeless battle a wet winter

Thursday, July 6th, 2023

Bracing for the relentless onslaught of wet winter days, people living on the streets of Auckland declare themselves warriors in an unyielding battle to stay warm. In the last year, the number of residents notifying Auckland City Mission about the welfare of people sleeping rough has doubled. The notifications sounded the alarm on the dire Read more

New Zealands most ‘housing insecure’ are men

Monday, June 12th, 2023
Safe home

Men are New Zealand’s most vulnerable when it comes to housing. Men seem particularly vulnerable to housing insecurity, says Greg, a peer support worker with Lifewise, who works with men experiencing homelessness. He told RNZ’s The Detail they’re often facing a web of other personal challenges. Thinking of the people he works with now, Greg Read more

Māori homelessness a Crown-Treaty failure

Monday, May 22nd, 2023
Māori homelessness

Ignoring Māori homelessness and failing to implement effective Māori housing policies is a Crown breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says the Waitangi Tribunal. The Tribunal says the first stage of its inquiry into the Crown’s housing policy and services from 2009 to 2021 is now complete. It found the Crown’s actions breached Te Tiriti Read more

Paying the price – the thousands Gabrielle made homeless

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023
housing

Significant concerns about housing have emerged again. Cyclone Gabrielle’s brutal aftermath has left thousands of people homeless. New Zealand already had a housing shortage – so where to accommodate the newly displaced is a huge question. Housing’s short. Demand exceeds supply. Rents are brutal. How will they – can they – pay the price? The Read more