Begging the question
Just how do you solve a problem like begging? Bess Manson got out on the street for some answers.
The only thing that will get Marcus Pohio off the street is death. That’s his own grim prediction, delivered with a sense of fait accompli and a resigned shrug.
Pohio, 48, has lived on the streets more than half his life. He’s been on drugs for more years than he can say. P and crystal meth are his constant companions.
In his late teens his father gave him the option of marijuana or motocross for a birthday gift. He chose the former and it was a slippery slope into a drug-addled life from there.
‘‘I have dedicated my life to drugs now. All my resources go to support my drug habit. I live for P. It controls my life,’’ Pohio says. ‘‘The Salvation Army offered to help me with longterm rehab but I think the only thing that will get me off the street is death.’’
He’s wearing a zebra onesie and a thin coat. At 6 o’clock on a bitter Thursday in Courtenay Place, central Wellington, he puts his cap out on the cold pavement and waits for the first coin of the night to drop. The pickings are good here. Sometimes $60 a night. Wellingtonians are good givers. And this is the spot to be, Pohio says with more cheer than most living rough on the streets of the inner city.
He is on the waiting list for a council house, he says.
‘‘I have a social worker who wants to help me. But I don’t want to live alone. I would go crazy by myself.
Pohio is one of around 30 to 60 beggars on the capital’s inner city streets. The number fluctuates depending on events, seasons, weather.
Over the past few years begging’s become a visible problem – for the council, for retailers, for the Inner City Wellington (ICW) residents association.
Mostly it’s become a big problem for those reduced to begging for money in the hope they will be seen as flesh and blood rather than nohopers, opportunists and scammers.
There are some of the latter but the majority of those on the streets are homeless, suffering mental health issues, struggling to integrate into society after time in prison, or just struggling to feed themselves after paying rent and bills: Dirt poor.
How you solve a problem like begging depends on who you ask. Stephanie McIntyre has a radical solution: Don’t give them a cent.
‘‘If no one ever gave another cent . . . let’s see in six months if we still have this phenomenon because we might not have,’’ the director of Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) says. ‘‘It’s the public who are fuelling this so why would we not expect it to grow?’’
Retailers representative Greg Harford has a different fix – a ban on beggars. That would be a ‘‘solid step in the right direction’’, says the general manager of Retail New Zealand.
That’s a ridiculous idea, say local MP Grant Robertson and Wellington Mayor Justin Lester, who instead advocate for addressing the root causes of the problem.
Why a ban?
The most important thing from retailers’ point of view is that there is a sanction, Harford says.
‘‘This might not be much more than moving them on, but I think we as a city need to make it clear that the way for people to access support if they need it is through the appropriate social agency, not by sitting out on the streets begging.’’
The city council can refer people on all it likes to the various social services but it hasn’t got any stick to actually keep people off the street, Harford says. ‘‘The council needs to draw a line in the sand and say that begging is not acceptable.’’
Sarah Webb of ICW agrees. Not enough is being done to get beggars off the streets, she says.
The council vetoed a call by ICW last year to ban begging. At the same time it ruled out a proposal to fine those who give to beggars.
Instead, it agreed to push ahead with a programme of street management, with the city’s street outreach teams asked to increase their efforts to connect beggars with social services.
‘‘A year ago I would have asked for a ban but if we can’t get a ban in place perhaps we can get a ban on begging around money machines,’’ Webb says.
‘‘Let’s take it step by step and try and get some boundaries around it. Make high public traffic areas no-go zones.’’
Changes should be made to the public spaces bylaw about what’s acceptable and what’s not, she says.
‘‘Someone lying outside the supermarket with all their belongings and their dog, dog food tipped out all over the footpath – that’s not acceptable. It’s not pleasant. People are going in there to buy food. They don’t want to be asked for money when they are going to do something as basic as their grocery shopping.’’
But for Robertson a ban is not the way to solve the problem. ‘‘That kind of rhetoric is entirely unhelpful,’’ says the Labour MP for Wellington Central.
The issue of begging was for a few months literally on his inner city office doorstep, with a young man sleeping rough there.
Robertson and his staff looked after his belongings during the day while he was out on the streets begging.
They eventually found him accommodation but the subject is something that the MP says is raised with him daily.
‘‘Increasing poverty in New Zealand and a lack of social housing are the root causes of people begging on our streets. Begging is merely the shop window of a series of social issues we are not dealing with as a country.
‘‘The big-picture solutions we have for this are to bring all the agencies together – the district health board, housing agencies, Work and Income and the council – to come up with a much more co-ordinated solution.’’
The DHB has a lot of answer for, he says.
‘‘The DHB has been dragging the chain but as we have seen recently, they are grossly underfunded and have had to tighten their budgets.’’
Capital & Coast District Health Board withdrew funding for 12 mental health service providers as part of its overhaul of mental health in 2014.
Funding was ‘‘repurposed to other services in a way that is more focused on meeting the user’s needs, and results in better outcomes’’, according to Rachel Haggerty, executive director strategy, innovation and performance.
Many of those using the services, including drop-in centres Courtenay’s and The Clubhouse, at the time predicted the move would see them back on the streets.
Robertson says the council and DCM’s proposal for a 14-bed wet house offering long-term housing and wrap-around services for alcoholics, was a positive step. More resources for agencies like Evolve, which offer social support to youth, and DCM, and for those out on the street helping people in need are also concrete solutions to the problem.
A different way of giving
Chris Wilkinson has a few ideas of his own to bring to the issue.
The managing director of First Retail Group favours a take on an earlier council pilot scheme to encourage the public to give to social services that help those on the streets rather than directly to the beggars .
‘‘We don’t want to tell people what to do but many will be unaware that their giving could be doing more harm than good.’’
A $40,000 ‘alternative giving’ campaign to reduce begging on Wellington streets raised just $3500 in eight months and was ditched in 2014, with the council saying many people were simply confused by it.
But Wilkinson says visible receptacles dotted around the popular begging areas with the names of particular social services would be effective.
Food and care vouchers were another proposal he was discussing with local businesses.
‘‘Businesses or the public could buy vouchers from the council or social agencies to give to someone on the street, which would allow them to go to the supermarket and buy food or personal care products. This has been successful in places like Canada and the UK.
‘‘These are not new ideas. These are proven to work.’’
The frustrating thing for the people who are trying to help is the high degree of opportunism, he says.
‘‘We are seeing people come into town to panhandle. That masks the real need. No matter what people say, the reality is that there is some organisation amongst this. There is organised begging and that money is being used for criminal activity.’’
However, Inspector Clint Walker from Wellington Police says despite anecdotal evidence of heavies collecting money from beggars, there is no concrete evidence of a rort.
While there might be an increase in numbers of those begging on the street, there was no increase in offences connected to people who are begging, he added.
After losing his job and flat, Matt Earle is back on the street. He celebrated his 30th birthday as a homeless young man who dreams of building his own log cabin and playing the guitar in a band.
He lost his flat in early June, kicked out, he says, for trying to help a friend who was sleeping rough.
He has a mattress, a sleeping bag and a pillow. Everything he owns is in a supermarket trolley.
DCM helped him start the process of finding Housing New Zealand accommodation. He has a social worker. Thanks to places like the Free Store, he has never gone hungry during his several stints on the street.
Nights are the worst, he says. It’s
lonely and cold. He sleeps here and there. He avoids Civic Square since being robbed there.
As he sits outside New World Metro in Willis St, his box begins to fill with coins. He was lucky to get the popular position.
He’ll make sure he gives a few coins to other beggars when he makes his way to wherever he sleeps that night. It’s etiquette, he says. ‘‘It helps keep a neutral feeling between all of us.’’
There are a few guys who tax other beggars on the street, though he’s never been approached himself.
The idea of making this spot a no-go zone won’t work, Earle says. ‘‘People will just find alternatives. A large percentage will turn to crime.’’
The Wellington public are generous. ‘‘It’s great to know that people do care, especially when you think the universe is forever working against you. People will disprove that and restore your faith in society.
Don’t give a cent
It is this public generosity that is enabling the issue of street begging to thrive, says Stephanie McIntyre, director of DCM.
At 9am on the dot McIntyre joins her staff and those who have come off the street for their morning karakia outside the inner city Lukes Lane premises.
The congregation sings Hallelujah in te reo Maori. A heavenly sound rising from a dishevelled choir.
After a prayer they all head inside. Some have come for help with housing matters, some to see the nurse or dentist, others to use the food bank or simply to spend time at Te Hapai, a welcoming and safe place within DCM for people to attend programmes, play music or just hang out.
DCM’s main focus is on ending homelessness and supporting people to get access to income. They work alongside Ngati Kahungunu and the Soup Kitchen dispatching outreach teams who approach those on the street offering help to link them with the services they need.
McIntyre says the phenomenon of begging on the street exploded a few years ago. Numbers ebb and flow.
‘‘We had a situation where we had Ben Hana, aka Blanket Man, living on the street but very little other visible homelessness.
‘‘Ben was seen as an icon of Wellington and everyone thought that was all right. Now there’s suddenly 20-30 people begging and suddenly that’s not seen as all right.
‘‘What deeply disturbs me is how many really, really poor people we have coming through here and how rapidly the group of people who are poor and marginalised and homeless is growing.’’
As begging has become normalised and acceptable, visible homelessness has also become more normalised and acceptable.
McIntyre says there are people begging who are housed but have insufficient money left over after paying rent, bills, debt and any other financial commitments to buy even the staples.
Imagine living on less than $40 a week – this is the reality for some who come to DCM, she says.
‘‘The complexity around poverty and the amount of people who are really poor and the degree to which they are poor, that’s what I am seeing. I am not surprised for one second that that is reflected over in street begging.’’
But giving money and food directly to beggars is not the answer. ‘‘The begging question is about two parties – it’s the person with their hat out and the person putting the money in. I just wish people wouldn’t put the money in.’’
Why are people so intent on having to feel that experience of giving directly to a person, she asks?
‘‘It worries me. Is it a mistrust of what agencies are up to?
‘‘We are letting [beggars] entrench into a way of life. It’s not good. It’s not safe. We want them to have bigger aspirations and dreams, to address trauma and become more well. We want them to have more interesting lives than that.
‘‘Sit and have a chat with someone who is begging, say gidday, have a yarn. Don’t give anything. Ask if they are going to DCM, Soup Kitchen or somewhere else. That would be the most effective way to stop it.
‘‘If residents and retailers want to become irate at anyone, the target of their discontent really needs to be towards the people who are putting the money in the hats.’’
Wellingtonians think of themselves as generous and liberal minded, as if somehow that makes it OK, McIntyre says. But we can’t have it both ways. ‘‘If that’s the way we want to do it, we can expect a city where there are multiple people living and begging on our streets.
‘‘We talk here about the practice of manaakitanga – it is built around the word mana. Mana is about respectfulness, a lifting up of one another. Begging and giving to someone begging is not practising manaakitanga. It’s a demeaning and disrespectful [act].
‘‘It’s charity at its worst.’’
It’s 12:30pm on Monday and local host Ross Thorndon gently wakes up a man sleeping rough on the council’s doorstep in Civic Square.
Papa Smurf, so named because he looks after the younger street kids, punches the air with a triumphant fist. ‘‘Yes, I made it through the morning. I need my eight hours’ sleep.’’
He sleeps in a doorway to the council offices with several others living rough. There are mattresses, shopping trolleys with clothes and other bits and bobs. Pieces of cardboard are rigged up to fend off the icy wind.
He has five street kids he calls his own. ‘‘I make sure they have food and stay out of trouble.’’
As he talks, several of his street family approach him for a handshake, a hug, an offer of a cigarette. He’s the linchpin here in Civic Square.
He used to get an invalid benefit. It stopped for reasons he won’t go into but he’s getting help starting it up again.
He is on the waiting list for a council house. He needs a four or five-bedroom house so he can take his kids with him, he says.
‘‘Either I move into a house and they come with me or I stay out here and look after them. I won’t leave them out here.
‘‘We look after each other. I have street parents as well. They sleep on the other side of Civic Square under the stairs. They make sure I take my medication and make all my medical appointments. They do everything my parents should have done.
‘‘My street family is my real family. My other family were useless.’’
He’s given up the booze, the uppers and downers. Cigarettes are his only vice.
Papa Smurf, who has been in prison twice and is schizophrenic, says Wellington is the best place to be homeless. This city has guidelines for beggars, rather than rules.
Those calling for a ban have no idea what life is like for beggars, he says. ‘‘If they got a crash course in what it’s like down here, they would understand how hard it is to make money like this.’’
There are several people sleeping rough in Civic Square. Trouble erupts between groups – there’s a clear hierarchy – but the trouble is soon quelled by Thorndon, who obviously has the respect of all parties.
The council’s local hosts started out in 2012 as ambassadors for the city, friendly faces to point visitors, cruise ship punters and the general public in the right direction. But over the past few years they have evolved into advocates for the street community.
Twelve local hosts work with an outreach team to help people access services available to them.
Sometimes you have to encourage them to make use of these services, Thorndon says. Others are grateful for the help.
Those on the street are not the problem per se, he says. ‘‘They are people with problems. If you address the underlying issue you address the real issue.’’
How the mayor sees it
The folks sleeping rough and begging in Civic Square are on mayor Justin Lester’s doorstep.
‘‘When I come to work I see people have been sleeping here overnight. It is a problem but there’s a really basic solution to it – get good services, wrap them around people and get people into a home.’’
The underlying issues for people living on the city’s streets are around employment and lack of accommodation, says Lester, who campaigned on housing as a priority.
‘‘People are either homeless, can’t afford their rent, or just don’t have enough money. There might be the occasional person scamming but in my experience people don’t beg as an easy way to get money. No one wants to be out there. I can’t think of anything more humiliating.’’
Lester, who earlier this year announced about 750 units of social and affordable homes would be built in Wellington, says a ‘‘housing first’’ approach is the best response.
The problem is exacerbated by mental health services having been cut back, he adds.
‘‘You can’t do things like not increase health budgets for inflation over a decade and expect to have the same outcome you would 10 years ago.
‘‘You can’t not fund mental health institutions because that would be their home, not in the traditional sense of a home but they wouldn’t be on the streets if they had somewhere where they were looked after.’’
The council is reviewing its public spaces bylaw and begging will be one of things examined. But Lester is adamant a ban or no-go zones won’t be considered.
‘‘You are not solving anything, you are just hiding it. You are moving it to the next suburb or city centre. The problem is that that person doesn’t have a home or sufficient income.’’
Receptacles to donate are not an option either. ‘‘We tried an alternative-giving programme and it didn’t work.
‘‘The best thing people can do is support agencies – the City Mission, the soup kitchens, the DCM: fund them directly. ‘‘
Brian Dawson, the council’s social development leader, says the solutions have to address more than the symptoms.
‘‘We can’t just address begging because people don’t beg in isolation.
‘‘There are obvious issues behind it like housing, homelessness, addiction, substance abuse. Debt is a huge problem. People are begging to help pay their way through an endless cycle of debt.’’
Mental health is a significant issue. There are not enough services for people in the central city.
This was partly due to the DHB withdrawing funding from drop-in centres, he says.
‘‘I know why they closed them down, because they assessed them as having minimal therapeutic value and to be fair they probably did but the reality is it gave people somewhere to go that wasn’t just the street.
‘‘Beyond that we have limited community mental health care. It’s all very well to say mental health care is provided in the home but that only works if you have a home.
‘‘We can’t fix begging without fixing all these other issues.’’
‘‘We want beggars to have bigger aspirations and dreams, to address trauma and become more well.’’ DCM’s Stephanie McIntyre