Homeless and pregnant

Sipping on a cup of hot chocolate, Jess snuggled into a blanket on one of Auckland’s coldest nights.

‘‘I’m two months pregnant and I’m homeless,’’ said Jess (not her real name).

Jess, 29, has been living on the streets of Manurewa for months.

She is one of nearly 24,000 homeless people in Auckland, according to the Auckland Council. Jess’ spot was outside a dairy; her blankets were scavenged from a clothing bin.

On Wednesday, the temperature had dropped down to a cold 8 degrees Celsius.

‘‘It feels so much colder,’’ Jess said. She tugged at her blanket, and pulled on the hood of her onesie to cover her head.

Jess admitted her situation was different to the others around her. She had a home to go back to but chose to be on the streets because her partner was in jail.

Jess said she also had five other children whom she left with her mother because she ‘‘didn’t want to break their normal routine’’. ‘‘I’m worried, I really want to keep this baby and I want to be a parent. I’m really scared for this child but I’ll wait for my partner to come out so he can look after me. And I see my kids every week, my mum lets me see them.’’

She said she understood that living on the streets was not good for her unborn child and was determined to find a home before she reached full term.

Auckland City Mission’s Chris Farrelly said homelessness was not a choice.

Many homeless people often suffered from significant trauma, battling major mental health problems and addiction, and shared poverty, he said.

‘‘There is no one cause,’’ Farrelly said. ‘‘Most of these people would love a home but they would require intense wraparound support too. It’s not just about providing a roof over their head or a house.’’

According to the council’s homelessness policy project, almost 24,000 people were homeless in Auckland in 2017.

These included those sleeping on the streets, or in cars, in emergency housing, couch surfing or living in garages.

Sitting beside Jess, was Maya (not her real name), a young woman in her 20s who never missed a chance to ask people walking by for change.

Some people gave her money but most didn’t, she said. A few offered to buy her a meal which was shared with her street friends. Maya has been on the street for almost a year. She said she used to have a great job.

‘‘Everybody’s got their own stories. I’m here because my partner started using synthetics and he left me out here.

‘‘My family is in the islands.’’ Maya said she liked living on the streets – it was the only place she felt safe.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford said it was a wonder why New Zealand, a successful and prosperous country, still had people sleeping outside.

He said the Government’s extra $100 million for emergency housing was to ensure everyone was housed this winter.

‘‘The prime minister has instructed all frontline staff in Winz and Housing NZ to do absolutely what they can possible to make sure that anybody that needs shelter gets it,’’ Twyford said. ‘‘And I’m working as hard as I can to make sure that happens.’’