Homelessness | Article
- Sheuk-Yeeng Tan
- Mar 27, 2019
- 3 min read
The forgotten of society. The invisible. The ones we walk past. The ones left to sleep on the hard ground on a cold winter’s night.
Homeless and the poor are a real issue in New Zealand. It has been thought to be related to the housing crisis in Auckland due to the booming prices. The estimated population of the homeless is roughly 300 for urban homelessness compared to a number of 500-1000 for rural homelessness. Rural homelessness is often overlooked because they are largely hidden, compared to the more visible urban-based homelessness.
These numbers are soaring; and without sufficient help to get these rough sleepers somewhere to stay or a job that can sustain themselves, these numbers will only rise.
There are statistical surveys that are carried out every year and it is visible that the presence of the homeless is a social and national problem.
Auckland City Mission
This organisation is run by Wayne Jackson as the company director and Chair, working along with a few other partners and many hundreds of volunteers that provide many services to rough sleepers in Auckland. These include Calder Health Centre, Crisis Care & Community Services, Distribution Services, Elder Persons Service, Homeless Services and Social Detoxification Service.
The City Mission is often involved in a variety of different projects that involve giving to the community through partnering with organisations as an annual appeal collecting non-perishable foods such as cans to fund food parcels. It relies heavily on donations to provide for Aucklanders in need as well as volunteers for their service.
The People’s Project
This was a project established in Hamilton in 2015 for rough sleepers that lived there. It is a community-based approach that work together to connect rough sleepers with employment, accommodation and health services to support them.
Housing First recognises a model that in order for people to understand the issue after they have been housed, and offering them counselling and the right to health care and from there, they can then begin to help them through these services to return to society.

The number of homeless does not only include the ones who live in the streets without shelter, but also includes rough sleepers who live in shelters or in cars as a temporary solution for housing issues. The figures collected by volunteers during the homeless count in October 2018 was 179 for rough sleepers, 157 sleeping cars and 800 living without shelter. The numbers are soaring and with Labour’s policy to improve the housing crisis, there is hope that these homelessness will be able to find accommodation, however there needs to be an rehabilitation approach in place that helps them find their place in society, such as the Housing First model.
In comparison to other countries, such as United States, the homeless numbers exceed half a million. Although the issue may appear to be insignificant paired with a larger populated country, it is a social issue that needs to be addressed. These numbers do not just represent a statistic, each number represents a human being, living and breathing in the present. We cannot treat them as outcast of society simply because of the financial situation that they are in and treating them as a burden on our backs.
In our society today, it is easier to be ignorant than to understand what is happening in the real world. That is what we are – ignorant and oblivious to the growing amount of rough sleepers that we often do not try to understand their situation, to put ourselves in their shoes. Instead, we blame them for their existence in the world; that they are a burden to our society as they don’t contribute anything. Supporting one another will create a better and more healthy environment and community for one another. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to an issue that is continuously growing when we know for a fact that we can do something to help that, even if it’s just a simple acknowledgement.
Sheuk-Yeeng Tan
Cover image by Matt Collamer
Comments