A decision to build a night shelter for the city's homeless is expected to be among the first items of Tauranga City Council business for the new year.
The feasibility study by the Tauranga Moana Night Shelter Trust is expected to be part of the business for the first meetings next month, says trust spokesman and Tauranga Safe City coordinator Mike Mills.
People exhibiting behaviours of the homeless are not necessarily without a home.
What sort of shelter, and where it will be, are part of the discussions already being held with the council.
'Every city has homeless people and every city, bar Tauranga, has a night shelter,” says Mike.
'The thing about the issues around homelessness, or the fact that there are people wandering around the streets scoping out cars, has got nothing to do with providing a shelter and a pathway out of homelessness.
'If we just leave them they are perfectly entitled to be there.
'They are not breaking any laws wandering around the streets; they are not breaking any laws sitting on a park bench in the downtown.
'Where they become a problem may well be because of some of their behaviours and those are true for anybody.”
Throwing them in jail is proving ineffective and expensive. Because their offending is minor they can go in and out of jail on a regular basis, says Mike.
'That's one of the reasons why Aaron Fraser, the community cop, got the whole initiative going.
'He was seeing that these guys were just on a cycle; arrested, locked up, in and out of jail, in and out of the court systems but with nothing actually happening to change the circumstances that were contributing to them being there in the first place.
'And that's why we have taken this step. It's not some kind of rosy eyed, dewy romantic notion that if we provide the shelter everything's going to be sweetness and light.
'All we are saying is if we can provide a pathway out of homelessness we are providing a pathway to break that cycle of behaviour.”
The council's earlier decision to support the shelter with $120,000 of ratepayer money has to be seen as a pragmatic step.
Mike says Aaron Fraser has joked it would be cheaper to house the homeless in a top floor Mount Maunganui apartment with 24-hour care than to leave them on the street.
'Even from an economic point of view, from a crime and safety point of view, from a health and well being point of view; these are all reasons why we are doing what we are doing – and they are all valid,” says Mike.
'I can understand why people would get angry, get upset. It's no different to if you had boy racers driver up and down your street every day, it would drive you bloody nuts.
'I can understand why people react to these things the way they do, but we are saying that in fact what we are doing is well researched, well grounded.
'What we will provide will be a good quality service and it will make a difference, and we are confident that we have a platform now to move forward.”
Much of the petty crime attributed to the homeless in Tauranga is in fact committed by people who do in fact have homes, says Mike.
A year or so back it was reported that a ‘homeless person' went into a shoe shop and abused the shop staff and scared the life out of them, says Mike – except the person wasn't homeless.
'It's easy to ascribe the label, ‘he's homeless, he's a criminal causing all this trouble' and they may not be homeless.
'They could be people with mental health issues in supportive accommodation who choose to hang out with that kind of lifestyle.”
One of the rules of the night shelter will be that people who go there are not permitted to return to the streets until the next day.
'Because there's 15 people in the night shelter, that's 15 less people who are creating this ‘menace',” says Mike.
'There's any manner of reasons why people are on the street and why they are committing offences.
'That just to me misses the point completely, which is that we have a population of people who are homeless.
'The journey into homelessness is usually complex and usually pretty tragic, and for whom the trust is committed to providing a pathway out.
'The fact that they commit offences or are creating a nuisance just amplifies the need for that kind of service, not the opposite.”
The city council's 24/7 downtown liquor ban had the effect of raising the profile of Tauranga's homeless, because they could no longer sit around and drink in the CBD, says Mike.
It displaced them into areas outside the liquor ban and brought them into closer contact with suburban neighbourhoods.
Alcohol and substance abuse is a factor for many of the homeless and some have mental health issues as well.
'Most of these guys only access the health system when they are so sick they have to be taken to hospital,” says Mike.
'And then as soon as they are halfway able to stand, the hospital discharges them.
'That's why one of our trustees is from the DHB because they know access to adequate healthcare is a real problem.
'A lot of these guys have chronic medical conditions which are just exacerbated by their living conditions.
'Things like heart conditions, asthma, cardio respiratory illnesses.
'These guys take a hammering physically and they are not in good health.
'One of our trustees was homeless for many years and working with us as trustee, and he says his health is never going to come right.
'Living on the street did so much damage he's always going to be unwell or have difficulty staying well. These become a cost.
'Even the most mercenary, heartless, uncaring person has to acknowledge the fact that the costs to the health system, the justice system, the benefit system are very high with these guys.”
18 comments
Good Idea......
Posted on 19-01-2012 13:43 | By Donnaw
If it dosnt turn into a free hotel that us tax payers end up paying for forever. I think they do need somewhere to go, but they also have to take responsibilty.....stop drinking/gambling etc, get a job and pay for your home/rent like the rest of us have too....we would all love to lounge around town getting on the piss all day but we cant. Its very easy to make excuses for people that are down on their luck....but most of the time they are the ones that have put themselves there.
about time
Posted on 19-01-2012 13:49 | By tonyb1
Good on you TCC about time
In favour
Posted on 19-01-2012 14:13 | By Rich
Compassionate pragmatism is a good thing.
correction
Posted on 19-01-2012 16:10 | By MikeM
Please note that Tauranga City Council has not committed $120,000 of ratepayer funding to the project. The Council acting as Trustees of the Stewarts Trust has committed $118,000 towards a project working with the homeless by a charitable organisation. The Council will only release this money when they are satisfied that a proposal meets the conditions of the Trust. The Tauranga Moana Nightshelter Trust will submit our proposal and business plan to the Council in the near future. The decision about the money and any other forms of support will rest with them.
Overit
Posted on 19-01-2012 16:40 | By overit
They have places to go. Salvation Army for one. But they dont want to go there because they have to shower,give up the booze and drugs. I dont want my rates money to go to this cause.They choose to rough it mostly.
Lets build it.....
Posted on 19-01-2012 16:53 | By Tony
Right beside the Hot Pools...Oh and lets put a statue for them as well
re sjones1
Posted on 19-01-2012 19:07 | By hapukafin
I worked wherever there was a job going went without all the luxury availabj=le out there to get myself where i am now.I dont want my rates wasted on the bleeders in our society.Since when was our City Council a baby sitter.Just witness the ques outside the pokie venues on benifit day.
Well needed
Posted on 19-01-2012 19:08 | By bexcoz
Firstly to sjones1 i have spoken to salvation army as someone i know was made homeless very recently due to a parent with mental health issues and there is no free emergency accommodation here in tauranga, closest is Hamilton. He would love to have a shower and is not using drink or drugs as has no money to do so; cannot even afford to eat three meals a day like most of us...there are real people out there that do need these kind of services and i cannot believe that Tauranga as a decent size city has nothing available...we could all find ourselves in this position one day and wouldn't it be awful if there was nowhere for us to go but to sleep on the streets? It is easy to label them all as criminals when you are sitting in your warm comfortable home...
How sick.....
Posted on 19-01-2012 19:52 | By waima20
Apparently there are about 30 odd homeless in Tauranga...after the shelter is built I bet the amount of homeless will double in the first year and increase by about 20% a year after...this is what happens when the relegious and do-gooders try to cement their places in heaven at our expense!
Foresight
Posted on 19-01-2012 20:26 | By Steve Morris
At the end of the day we can argue the merits of not spending ratepayer's money (part of which is the sum I pay and I have the right to express how I want it spend, not spent, invested or otherwise) But the simple fact is the need is there. Even in Papamoa we have homelessness, take the man who until recently used to live behind Fashion Island in the flaxbushes as but one example. I'm more comfortable with these folks having a supervised warm environment where they can have the wrap around help they need to break out of the cycle than hiding in places in my community and the dangers that poses. We could also argue that it is not the role of ratepayers but the state to deal with such issues. True, but at the end of the day it is our community and if you want something done we as ratepayers need to have the flexibility to do it ourselves.
whos paying
Posted on 19-01-2012 21:21 | By len barron
i would just like to know where did the $20,000 come from to do the study into the building a homeless shelter ?
Posted on 19-01-2012 21:23 | By charob
if these "Homeless people" can afford cigarettes booze and drugs then i assume they must be getting money from somewhere so why cant they afford to flat, board somewhere instead of on the streets. i agree with sjones1
The original Police response
Posted on 19-01-2012 22:03 | By tibs
Their original suggestion was that if the people with food outlets in town didn't leave food for them then they'd move on. TCC may not have committed money (yet) but they've committed resources in the form of our Tauranga Safe City Coordinator, who is also spokesperson for the trust. There wouldn't be a conflict of interest there would there? Every city bar none has a shelter. Gee, finally a point of difference for Tauranga. But alas no, His Worship the Mayor has done an about face and is now in favor of having one. So, I guess we'll get one. After all with former councillor Baker now at the Foodbank, possibly going for another council berth at the next elections, then M Crosby would be in a suitably convenient halo bearing position if he gets this through.
Why the C.B.D???
Posted on 20-01-2012 07:33 | By Jack the Lad
I would like to suggest Mayor Island as an alternative, I am over my staff being constantly threatened by these people, company cars being broken into ( for the sake of $5.00), why is it always the law abiding who are made to pay. And yes I understand the problems they have, and the burden on the court systems,( ooops I have broken a violin string), I for one am over the homeless foisting another burden on the rate payers, we already contribute as tax payers to their habits, and a well worn idea would be to give them their benifits in food and accomadation vouchers, not cash!!!!. A wool shed and a sheep dip is an alternative also.
Will it need a resource consent?
Posted on 20-01-2012 09:29 | By Gee Really
Because if it does that will probably mean the end of it just like the Mount hotpools project. It's not an easy decision and there are pros and cons, but my prediction is that homelessness and its associated problems will increase whatever the decision. I hold good working people up as my heroes. Yes, the poor suckers that do the working and paying. Not a bunch of boozing layabouts. Fair enough?
.
Posted on 20-01-2012 10:15 | By mrs rose
There but for the grace of god go we.
Slippery slope
Posted on 23-01-2012 07:48 | By The Tomahawk Kid
this is what voluntary community spirited organisations are for. TCC are not a community spirited organisations they are highwaymen! Stand and deliver or else! Once they get involved even in the guise of dishing out funds from a trust - they wont be able to help themselves not to get involved - they will be associated with this shelter, and then feel the need to intervene when they start pleading for more money. It is a slippery slope towards a ratepayers funded facility
Homeless on the Dole
Posted on 26-01-2012 18:54 | By Sandyshirl
So you are saying our homeless arn't on the dole and yet we see them with untold drinks, smokes, etc around our streets. If WE have to struggle on the dole when renting a house, room etc, they also can do it. Can't see the Council building me a room for outlandish kids etc. Come on - See the light.
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