CityBeat - Te Waha Nui Online

Homelessness on the increase

homelessness-on-the-increase

by Geraldine RoperHomeless man

Auckland City’s homeless population is on the increase but more are making use of the services and support available.

The 2007 rough sleeper’s street count, released this month, has shown the number of people sleeping on the streets or in emergency accommodation has increased from 108 to 134 since 2005.

However, of the 134 people sleeping with the 3km radius of the Sky Tower, more were sleeping in temporary accommodation such as hostels and night shelters, rather than on the street.

The census came six months after an after-hours mobile service was initiated as part of the Auckland City Council’s Homeless Action Plan.

The service aims to find people who don’t contact the existing agencies and informs them of what assistance is available.

Auckland City Mission Team Leader Wilf Holt says while it’s still early days, the mobile service seems to be going well.

However, the large margin of error could bring the figures on people sleeping on the street back up, says Mr Holt.

“I don’t think there’s been a huge reduction of people sleeping on the streets,” he says.

“But we’ve got to balance that with the fact that there’s certainly not an increase that’s visible.”

Co-ordinator of the Auckland District Health Board’s homeless team Lynsey Ellis says a lot of people are complacent that “only” 134 homeless people are sleeping rough in downtown Auckland.

“But if you compare that as a percentage of the population to the percentage of a big city such as London, the figures aren’t that different,” she says.

Ms Ellis says the report is “not an exact science” but is a good indication of the homelessness situation in Auckland City. The survey was undertaken by the Auckland Rough Sleepers Initiative, a group made up of the major stakeholders who work with homeless people.

What else the census found:

  • 65 people were sleeping on the streets – down from 81 people in 2005
  • 69 people were sleeping in temporary shelter – an increase from 26 people in 2005.
  • Of the total 134 homeless people 50.8% were of Maori origin.
  • The biggest age group of rough sleepers was people between 31-40 years old.
  • 20 per cent of those of the streets have been homeless for less than one year.

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