Rotorua has the second-highest number of homeless people in New Zealand. Only Auckland has more. In 2017 Tiny Deane decided to do something about it. Everyone told him he wouldn’t be able to. But he was not put off. He and his wife Lynley sold their rental property and remortgaged their family home to establish the Read more
At least 15,000 Syrian children will be at risk of homelessness if the Lebanese government goes ahead with the planned demolition of “semi-permanent structures” built by refugees in eastern Lebanon, aid agencies warned on Tuesday. Save the Children, World Vision and Terre des Hommes Foundation said in a joint statement the government made a decision Read more
A church in Gisborne is tackling its local housing shortage. It is the driving force behind a plan to build module eco homes for families in need. The Ahuru Mowai Housing Project has the twofold aim of increasing ownership of energy-efficient homes and boosting employment. Ahuru Mowai plans to build seven module homes in Ida Read more
The world’s richest man has donated almost US$100 million to address homelessness in the US. Three Catholic charities are among the 24 not-for-profit enterprises that will benefit from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’s newly launched philanthropic fund. Catholic charities in one archdiocese to benefit from the funds say this will help them assist homeless Read more
Mayor Phil Goff wants to pump an extra $5 million into the Auckland City Mission, to help with the construction costs of its new building on Hobson St. That building, to be called HomeGround, will contain accommodation, health services and community facilities. Demolition of the old City Mission buildings has already begun. Continue reading
A sculpture of a homeless Jesus – depicting hims as a homeless person sleeping on a park bench, with his face and hands are obscured by a blanket but crucifixion wounds on his feet revealing his identity has finally found a home. It was denied a home in London two years ago after Westminster City Read more
The Auckland City Mission has begun relocating its entire operation. It is shifting to a temporary site so the existing building in Hobson St can be upgraded. Its accommodation, food bank, medical centre and other services will be located a few blocks away at 23 Union Street until a $90 million redevelopment is completed. The Read more
An urban vegetable garden next to the Compassion Soup Kitchen in Haining Street, Wellington, was opened and blessed on Tuesday. The ceremony took place at 7am on a cool Wellington morning and was attended by about 100 people. The space for te māra (the garden) was gifted to guests of the Soup Kitchen by the Sisters of Read more
On the evening of Wednesday the 9th of August, Wellington Cathedral of St Paul will play host to a joint Roman Catholic and Anglican election forum focusing on housing. Political leaders are being invited to attend and speak, and it will be a fantastic opportunity for people to hear housing challenges and the proposed solutions Read more
Stephanie McIntyre has a radical solution for solving the growing number of people begging on the street: Don’t give them a cent. McIntyre is the director of Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) in Wellington. DCM’s main focus is on ending homelessness and supporting people to get access to income, but she says putting money in the hat Read more