Hamilton Homeless aims to formalise group

Homeless man, Junior, with Claire Chapman at last night's hui.

Hamilton Homeless held its first volunteer meeting on Sunday as part of its bid to formalise the group in their effort to help the homeless.

For the past six weeks the group, organised by Claire Chapman, has been providing food and clothing to those in need around the city centre.

They originally started serving food in Garden Place but were moved off by Hamilton City Council as the group didn't have a permit to operate.

Since then they have been moving around parking lots and parks serving food to the homeless illegally while the group searches for a permanent venue.

At the hui, the group focused on two main issues at the evening which were forming a trust to legalise their operations and a location where they could serve their next meal.

Currently the group does not have a place where it can serve food legally as they have no permits, which they need under council bylaws.

While the council offered the use of a space and to waive the fees for its use, Chapman said she declined the offer as it was too far from the CBD and offered no shelter during bad weather.

She was concerned that many older homeless people would be affected by the move.

About 30 people attended the meeting at the Latter Day Saints Centre on Ward St. The main focus of the meeting was to discuss forming a trust to legalise the operations and establish a location where they could serve their next meal.

The evening started with introductions with many sharing their experiences and explaining how they came to be involved with the group.

Pastor for C3 church in Rototuna Geoff Newell told the group he thinks they are making a difference. "I'm excited by that. I'm here to support you in the best way I can."

At the meeting were two homeless men who spoke about their own experiences and how the work the group has doing impacted on their lives.

Claire Chapman outlined her vision for the future. She hopes to have a venue where they can operate from 8am-8pm where they will serve meals to all those are hungry. She also wants to provide services such as alcohol and drug support groups for those homeless that are affected.

Hamilton East MP David Bennett was in attendance and gave his advice to the group about how they would be best to move forward.

"I think that your charitable trust status comes later, the immediate thing is to just get somewhere you can do it.

"Now if you've got somewhere that's existing, that'll probably cover off a lot of your council issues because they'll be consented."

The group hopes to have a venue where they can operate from 8am-8pm at night where they will serve meals to all those are hungry.

In future they hope to provide services such as alcohol and drug support groups for those homeless that are affected.

At this stage the group is planning to continue serving meals despite council warning that they would take legal action against the group.