Most beggars ‘not homeless’
Christchurch social services are warning people not to give money to an increasing number of street beggars, most of them not genuinely homeless and ‘‘making a jolly good living out of it’’.
A recent street count found 215 people were sleeping rough in Christchurch, some as young as 12 with addiction issues choosing to sleep in the streets.
Christchurch City Mission chief executive Matthew Mark said the number of people sleeping in the streets had stayed stable over the past few years, but the number of beggars had increased.
People should not give beggars money as most of them were not homeless and the money fuelled their alcohol or drug addiction, he said.
‘‘If your heart is moved for them, talk to an agency like ourselves . . . We know the people who are on the street, we know the ones who are sincere and the ones who are pulling your leg.’’
He said city missioners had watched one man collect about $60 within 15 minutes.
Christchurch streetie Tom Moke was sitting with a sign and a box to collect money in the retail precinct on Colombo St yesterday. He had a sleeping bag, a bottle of water and a backpack by his side, and greeted passers-by with a smile.
He said he had been homeless since his house was red-zoned after the February 2011 earthquake and he had lost his shearing and forestry job following health problems.
He slept rough most nights as he had been trespassed from the City Mission’s shelter after getting into a fight.
Moke said he used the money collected on the street to buy meat, eggs, bread, butter, clothes and food for his two dogs. He cooked the food at a public barbecue at the Margaret Mahy Family Playground.
He agreed not all street beggars were homeless.
‘‘Some of the ones that have homes are really struggling, that’s why they’re doing it. They wait until their kids are at school and then they come here. They’re doing it to provide for their kids.’’
But some used the money to buy alcohol and synthetic cannabis, and could become aggressive and messy, he said.
A recent Christchurch City Council and City Mission street count found 172 men and 43 women did not have a roof over their head, Mark said.
Several youth under 15 had been counted. They chose to live in the street because their homes were unsafe or because of addiction issues, which was a ‘‘sad indictment on our society’’.
Mark said mental health and addiction were the biggest issues for rough sleepers.
The count found 75 per cent were Maori men, 57 per cent were aged between 25 and 50, and 38 per cent had left prison recently.
Methodist Mission executive director Jill Hawkey said too many people were being released from prison without an adequate place to go.
‘‘There is some work to do with Corrections,’’ she said.
Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support manager Fiona Clapham Howard said homeless people using the service ‘‘are not the ones that you see begging in the street’’.
‘‘They have a lot of pride and want to find their own way. The ones genuinely
doing it rough are aware they are stigmatised and usually keep a low profile.’’
Many were sleeping in cars and some slept in red-zone properties or pitched a
tent on abandoned sections, she said.
Salvation Army Aranui community ministries director Fraser Kearse said the number of people fitting the traditional definition of homelessness – a
single person on the streets – might be stable, but the number of people couchsurfing or sleeping in cars or garages was rising.
Families and the ‘‘working poor’’
were most affected, but the issue was ‘‘much harder to quantify’’.
He said it was best to avoid giving money to street beggars and instead offer to buy them food.