Lyn Tankersley says homeless people in Masterton will soon have a safe place to sleep. To that end, accommodation for 13 is being fashioned from a once-derelict hall near central Masterton and is being transformed into “a haven of hope”. “My father was a Presbyterian minister. My mother was a Presbyterian minister’s daughter. The motto Read more
Wellington City Council’s social housing upgrades may be pushed out until the eighth year of its current long-term plan. As the 2024 plan is still being debated, social housing won’t get a look-in for funds until 2032 if Council staff recommendations are adopted. The Council currently houses more than 3000 tenants across 1900 homes through Read more
Emulating Pope Francis, Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP invited the city’s most vulnerable to come to lunch at St Mary’s Cathedral forecourt on Friday. Hundreds of people responded to the invitation. Over 100 volunteers fed them in the spirit of community and charity. The Archbishop, who joined the diners for the meal, spoke of his Read more
Each day in New Zealand 30,000 people are sleeping rough on city streets and in parks – about the same number as the population of Ashburton. Thousands more are couch surfing, living in vehicles and constantly moving through a series of short-term temporary accommodation. The latest statistics released showed that New Zealand has about 102,000 Read more
Homelessness does not have to be an insurmountable problem. “Shifting the needle on homelessness statistics in a truly meaningful way will take a collective and sustained effort” says Vinnies South Australia chief executive Evelyn O’Loughlin. She says organisations like Vinnies (the Society of St Vincent de Paul), all levels of government, businesses and the community Read more
Few American cities face a more daunting homeless crisis than San Francisco, where on any given day 38,000 people walk the streets and settle into doorways and back alleys without food or shelter. On top of that challenge, the Bay Area is home to a rapidly growing immigrant population from a host of countries, whose Read more
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
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
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
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