Auckland Domain hot property for homeless

April 12, 2016

Auckland Domain hot property for homeless

Staff at the Auckland Domain are becoming worried about its growing number of homeless occupants

An increasing number of homeless people making the Auckland Domain their permanent home is worrying the park’s staff.

Staff are also concerned by the number of fires being lit and by large piles of rubbish being left around.

A review, carried out by staff and the police late last year, found the number of rough sleepers in The Domain had peaked.

The review found two people sleeping outside the grandstand, five camps with people present, five either recently abandoned or vacant camp sites, three campsites where fires had been used to cook and a large amount of rubbish left behind.

At a recent Auckland Council meeting to discuss the public space, committee concerns were raised as winter looms.

Domain manager Jane Aickin told Te Waha Nui that measures were being put in place.

“We are reaching a peak of different camps being set up so we are working with our bylaws team and police. We have reminded the homeless of what the rules are and asked them to remove their possessions.”

She said that during winter there was a tendency for homeless people to gravitate towards warmer places, such as the Wintergardens, a glass house for tropical plants.

“The Wintergardens does have a heating system associated with it but in general because of security and lighting and ongoing monitoring it isn’t a problem.”

She said staff “tend to work with the homeless if they are occupying The Domain without causing any problems”.

But if a homeless person was frequently taking refuge in The Domain the Auckland City Mission might be called in.

The aim was to look after people and make sure they had homes, she said.

Wilf Holt, team leader for homeless community services at the Auckland City Mission, believes a core issue is a general lack of housing.

“You can feed people, you can clothe people, you can do all of that sort of stuff but the reality is that if there isn’t enough affordable, good quality accommodation you are going to have a homeless problem.”

Auckland City Mission homeless staff work with Housing New Zealand, WINZ and other agencies to help find appropriate accommodation options for rough sleepers and others facing homelessness.

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