Auckland growth hits homeless, says charity

By PHILIP ENGLISH

Regional growth is creating more homeless people, City Missioner Diane Robertson said yesterday, launching the mission's Christmas Appeal.

"Things like traditional boarding houses are closing and are being replaced by apartment buildings," she said.

"We have a lot less affordable and accessible housing for low-income single people in the city.

"For a lot of low-income people regional growth means they get marginalised more and more at the edges of the community."

Social problems would increase without planning for services and accessible housing.

Ms Robertson said the festive season should be about helping the less fortunate. For thousands of Aucklanders living in poverty or isolation Christmas was a stark time.

The mission's job was to make sure every Aucklander had the opportunity to enjoy the period.

"There's a huge group of people who actually don't get to share that family time and that traditional Christmas time of exchanging gifts," she said.

The less fortunate included those living in poverty who could not afford Christmas dinner, let alone getting together with their relations, and many living in isolation, from elderly people to students who could not afford to get home and refugees.

The mission Christmas campaign aimed to raise $600,000 through donations and a street appeal on December 9.

New (unwrapped) presents such as soft toys and games can be dropped off at participating New Zealand Post Shop branches around Auckland.

The appeal will pay for food parcels, household goods for families in crisis, presents for children who would otherwise go without, Christmas food hampers and New Zealand's largest Christmas dinner for more than 1000 people at the Auckland Town Hall.

Ms Robertson said Aucklanders had been supportive of past appeals but it their success was always "touch and go".