Jacob Lewis found himself on the streets and struggling to afford food. Now he's studying law at prestigious university.

A $25 increase in welfare payments will be cancelled out by new obligations for parents to return to work sooner and for longer hours, advocacy groups say.

I saw a pregnant lady on the bus offer her seat to an elderly lady. Meanwhile, college teenagers were going about their conversations.

Lorde has expressed her support for a lunch delivery program that helps our most vulnerable Kiwi kids.

Welfare rolls have increased for the first time in a June quarter since 2010, confirming other signs of that New Zealand's economic growth is slowing.

A long-term contract to inspect all state houses for potential risks to health and safety was axed the year before two Auckland tenants died last winter.

Geoffrey Pownall had thought his time with the Rotary Club was done.

An Australian model has issued a warning to women about a self-proclaimed fashion designer who allegedly groped, harassed and exploited models.

WATCH: Why this Auckland couple purposefully abandoned their four-bedroom house in Auckland and took to the streets...and why they prefer this lifestyle.

You'd be surprised just how hard it is to find a family willing to let a Herald writer snoop around their home and ask all sorts of intrusive questions about their substandard living conditions, writes Peter Calder.

Cold, damp housing is a significant issue facing children, with a paediatrician calling for more to be done to change the culture of accepting unfit houses.

Children are more likely to be in material hardship relative to the rest of the population in New Zealand than in any European country.

A bill aiming to give financial parity between the carers of foster children and children raised by their grandparents was passed in Parliament tonight but it wont take effect until 2018.

One of New Zealand’s most experienced private investigators offers advice on how to deal with stalkers.

The Government recognised in last week's Budget that the gap between market and benefit incomes has become too wide.

A mathematical model designed to predict children at risk of abuse will be trialled with data about children reported to Child, Youth and Family.

The Children's Commissioner wants a rethink of universal services so more public spending can go to the neediest families.

As a young boy, Daryl Brougham thought his name was Daryl Foster. He lived in at least 24 foster homes until the age of 18.

More than 860 victims who were abused while in state care have been given the option of a fast-track settlement.

The petition comes as the Salvation Army said it fed 9.5 per cent more people last year in its Midland region than it did in the year before.

Lauren Knight recalls the night police visited her house after an anonymous bystander wrongly reported her for slapping her children.

A major shift to more voucher-type funding of social services, including health and education, is proposed in a new official report.

A controversial anti-vaccination organisation has come under fire for comparing compulsory vaccination to rape in a social media post.

The This Doesn't Mean Yes campaign is tackling the insidious myth of women 'asking for it' through clothing or behaviour.

New welfare benefit figures confirm that New Zealand is splitting into two: Auckland and Christchurch, and everywhere else.

A cafe owner in the US who was 'heartbroken' to discover a homeless person was searching her rubbish for food has put up a sign inviting them to come inside for a free meal.

A pregnant mum of two has been left with less than $300 a week to feed and clothe her family after a formula for child support payments came into force.

Pressure to broaden the use of identification numbers attached to preschoolers has concerned the Privacy Commissioner.

The conservative Maxim Institute think-tank has joined the call for official targets to reduce child poverty.

Larger subsidies for first-home buyers and extended paid parental leave are among a raft of Government changes which kick in tomorrow.