Some businesses in Fenton St are fed up and have expressed concerns over issues with the homeless. Photo / Andrew Warner.
Some businesses in Fenton St are fed up and have expressed concerns over issues with the homeless. Photo / Andrew Warner.
Listening to "turf" wars, screaming, fighting, begging and drunkenness, and cleaning up rubbish and damaged property.
That's just a normal day for some Fenton St businesses who are feeling fed up with the disrespect being shown by some homeless people staying in emergency and transitional housing in the area.
Theyare calling for the homeless to be moved out of motels and away from the central city, something which the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has said it is working hard to do.
A ministry spokesman said Kāinga Ora entered into a long-term partnership with Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands in July to push through development of 1100 sections during the next five to 10 years. It says the partnership will also allow rezoning and master planning of up to a further 1500 sections on Māori titled land over the next decade.
But the solution can't come soon enough for business owners who say they are sad to see what's happening to Rotorua.
Bottle-O owner Dillon Dhillon said he and his staff had dealt with Rotorua's homeless for nearly 10 years and they were always polite and respected the rules.
However, he said there had been a sudden swell of people living on Fenton St they didn't know and their usual Rotorua homeless customers had told them many were Aucklanders who had moved to Rotorua to stay in emergency housing.
The Ministry of Social Development has previously said it didn't move homeless people from other areas to stay in local motels and according to their records, less than 7 per cent of those getting emergency housing were from out of Rotorua.
But Dhillon claimed issues were developing between the local homeless and those who had recently arrived and they fought over "turf", including the Rotorua Central Mall.
"They are telling me there is homeless people from Auckland and they are fighting them ... They are saying it's their town and are trying to kick them out of the mall."
Dhillon said it had got worse in the past three months.
"Homeless people from Rotorua are very good. I always ask them to come in morning before 2pm and they cannot be drunk.
Fenton St business workers are fed up with the homeless. Photo / File
"But since the new people come in town they are just mad. They will not listen to anybody. They keep asking for people's change. There's one woman who I have banned and I have rung police many times. Police can only do what they do and they are doing an excellent job."
He said he often confronted them and told them it wasn't nice as the Government gave them a motel to stay in and others provided them with meals.
"We provide the money and you don't do anything except ask people for money and that's not on. Sometimes I don't feel safe talking to them... the general public are not safe on the street."
In his view, it won't be long before tourists would stop visiting Rotorua.
"The new ones (homeless) have made a mess in Rotorua."
He said as long as the Government was paying for them, they should contribute, even if that meant cleaning the streets.
"If not, they should take them out of the town somewhere 2-3km away. Not the centre of town."
Another business owner in the Central Mall, who didn't want to be named, said he had moved to Rotorua from overseas four years ago because it was a beautiful place.
Now he was enduring daily issues with homeless people pulling down his signs, kicking his menu boards, coming into his shop and stealing his food and abusing his staff and customers.
"I am so sad actually. We are living in the most beautiful place in the world and they don't appreciate it."
Rotorua Central Mall general manager Peter Faulkner. Photo / File
Rotorua Central Mall general manager Peter Faulkner said he wasn't aware of any out-of-town versus local issues however there was an incident on Monday night when people gathered and threats were made between groups.
Faulkner spoke out earlier this month about issues as a result of people gathering to collect charity meals near the mall's boundary. He said the staff of mall tenants were feeling intimidated.
Faulkner said yesterday it was still causing "frustration and concern".
"The key thing to note is that the issue is not about whether the homeless should be fed or not, it's about the behaviours of those gathering before and after the meals and the perception and impact on the business activities in the area. Whilst this is a symptom of a wider and more pervasive problem, the symptom is rapidly becoming a problem of significance in its own right."
Faulkner said it was a "cause of sadness" and there needed to be a collective call on the Crown, particularly Ministry of Social Development, for support for finding a solution to the underlying problem.
The Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Mike Bryant said the Government had committed to ensuring that those in need had somewhere to stay.
Ministry of Social Development regional commission Mike Bryant. Photo / File
"When people come to us with an urgent need for housing, we support them to find a place to stay. It's important those needing housing don't have to live in cars or sleep rough."
Bryant didn't want to comment specifically on Faulkner's call for the ministry to find a solution.
A Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson said it had rolled out Housing First in Rotorua in May 2019, with funding to deliver housing and support for up to 105 people.
"Housing First recognises it's much easier for people to address challenges, such as poor mental or physical health, substance abuse and unemployment once they are housed."
The spokesperson said the programme, Mangatakitahi, is led by Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue Iho Ake, with Lifewise and Link People.
"They are facing unprecedented need among the community. The collective is working to address the housing problems faced by many households and they are committed to leading an iwi and Māori response to the growing need in Rotorua especially over the next few years."
The spokesperson said more details were also set to be announced about a multi-agency housing strategy.
The spokesperson said that on top of the partnership with Ngāti Whakaue Tribal Lands, the Government's announcement in July of shovel-ready investment of $55m in stormwater and transport infrastructure would enable development of the initial 1100 sections and support employment in the region.
Meanwhile, Rotorua police area commander Inspector Phil Taikato said last week there had been a rise in callouts around the Fenton St strip area, in particular to family harm callouts to motels.
He said police were aware of the issues around the distribution of meals near the Central Mall and were keeping an eye on it.
He said police were also working with other agencies to try and bring together the charities that fed the homeless to help ensure some people weren't "double dipping".
Callouts to Fenton St incidents had been distracting police from other areas but they were still attending family hard incidents all over the city.
He said many of the Fenton St offenders were recidivist family harm offenders and they had criminal records out-of-town but in 2020 their offending started in Rotorua, which indicated they weren't from Rotorua.
