Drunk and violent will not be welcome to stay

The Nightshelter offers comfortable accommodation but in return expects good behaviour. Photo / Ruth Keber

Rotten-drunk homeless men or those who are violent or threatening will not be welcome in Tauranga's new nightshelter when it opens for guests today.

Tauranga Moana Nightshelter trustee Mike Mills dispelled the image that it would be a doss house for anyone who turned up.

"If you turn up rotten drunk, you will not be allowed in."

He did not want the facility to get a reputation for being unsafe, because it would prejudice the opportunities for the many homeless who were looking to start making changes to their lives.

Mr Mills stressed the importance of setting the right tone for the nightshelter from the outset, including not admitting anyone who posed a risk to staff and residents.

"This is not just a dumping ground." He said they were getting calls from community mental health organisations every day, asking when the nightshelter was opening.

The initial motivation for the nightshelter was to cater for the 40-60 men who slept rough around the city but the actual number of homeless could be two or three times that if the people who couch-surfed or lived in tents and cars were counted, he said.

"They are genuinely homeless but invisible."

Photo / Ruth Keber

Mr Mills said the nightshelter included a bunk room for younger people who would not necessarily mix very well with older men.

"We want to do placements in a managed way." They would take men released from prison as long as nightshelter management was kept well informed and the man did not turn up "plonked" at ten to nine. "We are telling government agencies to be realistic. It is not a mental health facility."

He said people who showed up out of control would be refused entry and told not to come back. Those who stuck to the rules and stayed for a while would be rostered to help keep the place tidy. The nightshelter is located in the cul-de-sac off the end of Elizabeth St.

The Nightshelter Team

Manager: Annamarie Angus
House parents: Lance and Dianne Wilson
Overnight hostel supervisor: Wetini Tapara
Social worker: Gary Hinton