Homeless problem ‘worse than believed’

In today’s (29/01/2014) Southland Times there was an article written by Louise Berwick entitled “Homeless problem ‘worse than believed’”. This was in response to the presentation that I presented to Council yesterday afternoon along with a Southland Breathing Space Trust trustee Lesley Soper.

Figures from an Otago University study into the homeless is only scratching the surface and the situation is a lot worse than people believe.

Salvation Army captain Perry Bray said the figures give a good indication but he believed the situation was a lot worse.

The figures show that there are 330 "severely housing-deprived" people in Southland, according to census data from 2006.

His comments were a part of a presentation to the Invercargill City Council at the meeting last night, making councillors aware of the ongoing problem in Invercargill and Southland and the formation of the new Breathing Space Trust, which aims to establish a night shelter.

However, councillor Lindsay Thomas asked why agencies had not already done something about the matter and whether a night shelter would solve the problems. "So you’re looking after them for three days and then out they go again?"

Mr Bray said the shelter would help the homeless to get back on their feet and provide them with support to find permanent accommodation. Homeless was not just those roughing it on the street, it was also those cramming into houses and sleeping on mattresses at other people’s houses, he told the council.

He admitted that some people did not want help, but there were others who were trapped in a cycle of homelessness, he said.

One in 120 people were homeless in New Zealand, meaning more than 400 people in Invercargill were without a fixed home, he said.

Cr Alan Dennis said he was surprised so much money could be spent looking after stray animals but not people.

"Invercargill can spend $1 million looking after cats but not addressing the human issue."

However, he was concerned that, if the council were to fund the night shelter, some ratepayers would argue that the Government already provided benefits to the homeless.

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt suggested that if the group was likely to approach the council for funding it should submit under the annual plan.

Over the coming months we will be submitting a paper to go into the annual plan along with preparing presentations to potential funders so that we can get the Southland Breathing Space Trust up and running as soon as possible.

I was encouraged by a number of people that approached Lesley & I after the presentation to offer their support and assistance as we start to get everything established.

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The homeless among us

Yesterday the Southland Times ran an Editorial in response to comments made in the front page article on Saturday about the ‘Homeless here in the south’ entitled ‘The homeless among us.’

OPINION: Untidy business, homelessness, and not only at personal level. The statistics are scruffy, it’s politically whiffy and many a virtuously intended initiative has been met with behaviourally erratic responses.

All of which can invite the regretful, if spuriously comfortable, conclusion that the forces of personal choice, unwellness and bloody-mindedness can mean that, with the best will in the world there’s just no helping some people.

You can do only so much. No argument here.

Are we at least doing as much as we can?

In Southland, probably not.

The statistics on homelessness have been hazy, partly because these people have been inexplicably negligent about staying still, forming orderly queues, filling out their forms and keeping authorities updated about any change in circumstance.

And we’ve lacked information on the numbers that mightn’t be sleeping rooflessly, exactly, but are "severely housing deprived". Only recently has a focus been starting to form on that.

From an Otago University study, the picture forms that Southland has 84 homeless people and nearly 250 more who are severely deprived of what we would surely, each of us, regard as living accommodation worthy of the title.

The extent to which this might reflect a downturn in community fortunes is not so clear, though the news from groups that would seem to have status here, including soup kitchens, is that the need is increasing.

Granted, some hardasses out there might murmur that "need" and "demand" aren’t necessarily the same thing. They can be thanked for their contributions to the debate and invited to run along. Because even if we take these latest figures as a snapshot, it’s enough to warrant some practical community assessment.

The Invercargill City Council will tomorrow hear from the newly formed Breathing Space Trust, spearheaded by Salvation Arm Captain Perry Bray. It aims to start a night shelter for those in need.

Hardly an innovation, is it? The Salvation Army’s shelter for men closed in October 2013 after an independent earthquake report declared its 107-year-old Leven St building a serious earthquake risk.

Since then, whether deliberately or not, Invercargill has been conducting something of an experiment to see whether a homeless shelter is an optional extra. The Breathing Space Trust, which includes not only the Salvation Army but the police, Department of Corrections and community leaders, has reached the conclusion that it isn’t.

It’s true that the lack of a shelter hasn’t meant things have been entirely Dickensian. Government agencies, for one thing, haven’t suddenly disappeared. Trouble is, people with resistance to dealing with them hasn’t disappeared either.

Most likely some people in need of the shelter that the trust has in mind will not want a bar of it. And that others who do show up there will be problematically behaved. We’re talking about individuals here; not some generic group that will react like reef fish.

Mayor Tim Shadbolt acknowledges trepidation. For some, he says, sleeping rough is a lifestyle decision. Shelters can worsen a problem, he reasons, so the idea of a new shelter should be examined rather than uncritically accepted as a good idea.

Seems reasonable, provided we’re ready to acknowledge, and put aside, any prejudices about homelessness that we might be carrying with us.

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Homeless here in the south

Over the weekend the Southland Times ran the following front page article about the ‘Homeless here in the south’ which comes ahead of a presentation that I will be presenting to Council next week on the issue of homelessness.

Southland has 84 homeless people and nearly 250 more classed as severely housing-deprived.

The classification includes people without accommodation, people living in non-private accommodation and people living temporarily in severely crowded permanent private dwellings.

The figures are part of a study by Otago University and provide a quantitative look at homelessness in the south.

They show there are 39 people living without accommodation in Invercargill, 36 in the Southland district and nine in the Gore district.

However, a charitable trust is currently being set up in Southland with the aim of starting a night shelter for those in need.

The Breathing Space Trust is being spearheaded by Salvation Army Captain Perry Bray.

It incorporates community leaders, the Department of Corrections and local police.

They have collaborated to ensure those in need of temporary accommodation have somewhere to go, he said.

The trust will present its plans and statistics to the Invercargill City Council at its meeting on Tuesday.

A report compiled for the meeting by the council’s community development manager, Mary Napper, says the university study shows 203 people in Invercargill are regarded as severely housing-deprived – 96 in the Southland District Council area, and 31 in the Gore District Council area.

Captain Bray said the trust would not be asking for monetary support at this stage, but may require backing from local authorities in the future.

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt was approaching the idea with trepidation.

A night shelter could exacerbate the situation and, for some, sleeping rough was a lifestyle decision, he said.

"When you put out a helping hand, you’ve got to make sure you are not exacerbating the situation."

Mr Shadbolt said he was surprised by the study figures.

He expected a wide range of responses from the community to the shelter proposal, including those who did not think it was a good idea.

"It should be examined and analysed."

Southland District Mayor Gary Tong said he was unaware there were nearly 100 people sleeping rough in his region. He said he would be interested to learn more about the trust.

Gore District Mayor Tracey Hicks echoed his sentiment.

"It’s not something I come across on a regular basis. I would certainly be interested to know more about the issue. It does surprise me."

Southland police district’s manager of prevention, Inspector Olaf Jensen, said staff had been talking with the trust and supported the idea.

However, some people chose to sleep rough and did not want accommodation provided for them, he said.

"There’s certainly support out there in the community for people who want to have accommodation through a number of agencies. A lot of these people do not want to live in accommodation.

"Some of the people we have dealt with recently have that view."

Police have not had to deal with as many issues with homeless people in the past month, he said, noting a decrease in callouts.

However, there was still "obviously a need for temporary accommodation".

Captain Bray said the final paperwork for the charitable trust was under way and the trust would start talking with community groups about funding soon.

Ideally, the trust would set up the shelter by the end of the year.

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Back to school costly

Back to school costly was a feature article written by Lauren Hayes in The Eye newspaper on the 16th of January with the sub heading ‘Salvation Army tells parents to shop around.’

Southland parents struggling to pay back-to-school costs are being told to shop around to ease the financial burden.

The Eye found stationery requirements for year seven pupils, entering their first year of high school in Invercargill, cost $200 on average, while a complete uniform could cost up to $900 if bought new.

Salvation Army Captain Annette Bray said many parents found January expensive, and some looked to the Salvation Army services for help.

“It can be a tough time, especially for families that have got students transferring from primary school up to high school, having to buy a complete new uniform.”

In extreme circumstances, the Salvation Army could provide financial aid, but generally advised families to look around for cheaper options, she said.

As well as looking for second hand goods in family stores, Captain Bray suggested taking the uniform search online to sites such as Trade Me.

“You don’t always get everything you need, but it’s a good start.”

Most schools also held second hand uniform sales, where families could also find good quality gear, she said.

James Hargest College Parent Teacher Association chairperson Anne Allen said the school’s second hand uniform sales were always very popular because of the large up-front cost of uniforms.

Not all families who patronised the sales were struggling, she said.

Second-hand items such as shoes, shirts and PE gear often sold for well less than half their original price, while more expensive items such as kilts and blazers sold at half the original price if they were of good quality, she said.

A table showed that if you were to buy one of each of the uniform items for Southland Boys’ High you’d be expected to pay out $554.50. While the uniform requirements for Southland Girls’ High would set you back $899.96 at the time of print from H & J Smith’s store.

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Overnight excursion in Tekapo

On our way back from Oxford we had an overnight excursion in Tekapo. While we were there we were able to have a good look around the Church of the Good Shepherd which was built in 1935 as a place of worship for the pioneer families of the Mackenzie Country and is still used to this day.

The builders of the Church were instructed that the site was to be left undisturbed, and that even the matagouri bushes surrounding the building were to remain. Rocks which happened to be on the wall line were not to be removed and the stones for the wall were to be procured from within a five mile radius of the site, and were to be unchipped and in their natural condition.

As can be seen in the two photos it is situated in a truly idyllic area and as noted by Peter Hurricks:

“Somehow the setting and the church combine to speak of God to those who enter and pause in the midst of their busy lives.”

While in Tekapo we also spent a reasonable amount of time soaking in the hot pools at Tekapo Springs, which is one of New Zealand’s leading tourism attractions. It was a great way to split the drive home to Invercargill from Oxford.   

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A time of rest and relaxation

For the past few weeks Annette & I have had a time of rest and relaxation – yeah right! We headed up to Oxford after the Christmas break to do some home renovations on the house…

We built an internal wall in the garage which took Bill & I a couple of days to construct. This will provide some separation for the tenants in the unit and to provide a secure area for Mum & Bill to store some of our belongings as well as theirs and a workshop area.

While we were up in Oxford we also built a porch area off of the front door with our bargain of the week, the glass panel we picked up from the ECO Store for $20 and built a frame around it to provide a feature wall which doesn’t detract from the house.

Upon arriving back in Invercargill we have caught up on some of the home maintenance jobs on the to do list, barking and completing the brick garden edging around the rose garden. Getting the lawns done and cutting back the hedge yet again…

I must say though that it is hugely rewarding once the tasks have been completed to sit back and enjoy what has been done – you get a sense of how God must have felt after doing all that creation stuff. Maybe that is why we find rest and relaxation once the job is completed and when we look back on what we have done not during it…

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