Posts Tagged ‘homelessness’

Auckland City Mission has new home

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022
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Ten years after the Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai – began working on finding a new home, it has finally opened its doors. Called HomeGround, Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson (pictured at the new facility) says its new one-stop health and social services space for the city’s most vulnerable people realises a long-held Read more

Evicted pregnant mother of four finally finds a home

Monday, February 14th, 2022
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A pregnant mother, who is expecting her fifth child and has been evicted from her home of six years, is finally breathing easily. Palmerston North mother Lisa Wesselson made a desperate plea for housing when the place she called home was suddenly not hers anymore. Toxic mould had become evident in the house her family Read more

Catholic archdiocese building up to 20 tiny shelters on church land this winter

Thursday, December 2nd, 2021

Last fall, when Roman Catholic archbishop Brian Dunn moved into his position, replacing longtime archbishop Anthony Mancini, he wrote a pastoral letter outlining four priorities for his sphere of influence, the Halifax-Yarmouth archdiocese. Three of those are very specific to church affairs, including the religious teaching called catechesis. The other priority is homelessness. “It was Read more

Warm shower, clothes washed and a chat; restoring dignity in hard times

Monday, November 22nd, 2021

A new Orange Sky hybrid laundry and shower van began operating on Auckland’s streets on Wednesday. It is a second service for the city which accounts for nearly half the country’s homeless population. Orange Sky’s NZ Operations Manager Eddie Uini says many New Zealanders are continuing to face hard times in order to endure the Read more

Hundreds of homeless families to get permanent housing

Monday, November 1st, 2021

Hundreds of homeless families in Victoria, Australia, who have been staying in state-funded hotels during lockdowns will be found a permanent place to live. Housing Minister Richard Wynne says the state government’s $66-million investment will go towards supporting 250 families, including 400 children. They will be able to stay in hotels after next February’s cut-off Read more

Catholic emergency housing provider has a 279-family waitlist

Thursday, October 14th, 2021
TVNZ

A Catholic emergency housing provider says Government decisions are making it harder to find homes for families. The number of homeless waiting for accommodation has ballooned during the COVID-19 lockdown, says Auckland Diocese’s Monte Cecilia Trust. A spokesperson says the shortage is a result of the Government scrapping ‘redirect’ contracts. These contracts saw community housing Read more

One man’s efforts to change homelessness in Hastings community

Thursday, October 7th, 2021

Build relationships, not programmes, are the words of wisdom from one man behind the success of assisting homelessness in Hastings. Hastings Church lead pastor Warren Heke​ said addressing a homeless community with a one-size-fits-all approach would never work. He became involved with the homeless community five years ago after a Sunday service, and hasn’t stopped Read more

Homeless locked out, back on streets between lockdowns

Monday, August 23rd, 2021
Reuters

There’s no provision for homeless people between lockdowns in Victoria. The government provides funds for emergency hotel accommodation during lockdowns – but once the crisis is over, the homeless are out on their own again. It’s back to the streets or unstable housing. Housing providers say the on-again, off-again provisions are frustrating. They can’t always Read more

Government project targets ‘ghost houses’ to encourage owners to fill empty homes

Thursday, August 5th, 2021

A new government project is investigating how to locate empty ‘ghost homes’, find their owners, and encourage them to bring them back to being occupied. Stuff can reveal the Government has allocated $500,000 towards testing initiatives that aim to encourage owners to fill their empty properties. The initiatives are being run under an initiative called Read more

NZ’s admired COVID response helps fuel housing crisis

Monday, April 19th, 2021

Welfare agencies are concerned about the worsening housing crisis, soaring homelessness and inequality. New Zealand’s pandemic-inspired policies have translated into cheaper mortgages, allowing affluent “kiwis” to upsize their homes and build up portfolios of rental investment properties, fuelling a further surge in house prices. “Inequality was always growing, but COVID-19 is the proverbial straw that Read more