Airing Wellington’s dirty laundry on the street
Wellington’s street people are setting up home, with laundry hanging from bollards and designated shop fronts, on one of the capital’s most-famous streets.
In recent weeks bollards and bike racks festooned with damp clothing and bedding have been seen drying on Courtenay Place, the capital’s entertainment hub – and now an epicentre of visible homelessness.
Downtown Community Ministry director Stephanie McIntyre says it’s the sharp end of a confronting and deepening crisis amid winter’s coldest months.
McIntyre said rough sleeping and people living in cars and sheds was on the rise while the visibility of street people was more pronounced as the lines between street begging and homelessness were blurring.
‘‘There’s a range of reasons there’s an increase in visible homelessness which is influenced by the normalisation of street begging.
‘‘It’s become socially acceptable to be on the pavement with all your belongings.’’
Homeless man Keith Voschezang said after stints of employment he had been on the streets for nearly 20 years.
‘‘I feel like an outcast – they just spit me out.’’
Voschezang, who often sleeps in the Town Belt, said street people were trying to make a statement to the government and other authorities.
‘‘Give us some housing – sort it out. There’s heaps of homeless, it sucks.’’
Many homeless people had mental health issues and threats of violence and intimidation were a frightening part of life on the streets, he said.
Daniel Lowhon also lives rough on the capital’s streets and agreed homeless people making themselves more visible was a statement that more was needed to tackle the problem.
‘‘People talk in different ways,’’ Lowhon said.
Wellington city councillor Brian Dawson, who holds the housing and social developments portfolios, said he had not heard of homeless people using their circumstances to make deliberate political statements.
‘‘It’s news to me – but it’s entirely possible.’’
Communal gathering could be behind some of the heightened visibility as groups of friends were more likely to bring their gear out so they could stay safer and warmer in numbers.
‘‘What we’re trying to do is make sure there are fewer homeless people to start with.
‘‘The game changer which is about to roll out is the Housing First programme,’’ Dawson said.
Housing First is intended to focus first on getting people into stable housing before other issues – including mental health, substance abuse and employment – are addressed.
The Ministry of Social Development had approved funding and the council was about to sit down and talk about its own contribution to Housing First
‘‘My hope is that within the next two months – at the outside – we’ll begin to see Housing First take effect strongly in Wellington.
‘‘And the very first focus ... is those living on the street,’’ Dawson said.
"Give us some housing – sort it out. There’s heaps of homeless, it sucks." Homeless man Keith Voschezang