They fight, take drugs, and sleep rough: can the chronically homeless be saved?

Friday, 22 June 2018

A pair of cracked bare feet at the end of Williamson Ave, near Auckland's Grey Lynn shops, are as much a fixture of the village as Kokako Cafe.

During summer, these feet poke onto the footpath from under a striped umbrella; in winter their owner Loiti Sentos​ tucks them into the little concrete alcove he's commandeered next to a fire hydrant. Sentos prefers going by the name 'Royal' and says he's 'doing alright, doing alright'.

Royal, 50, has been homeless for the last two decades and hasn't seen a doctor within that time. When asked about his background he murmurs about living in a forest as a boy and that he grew up on an island – but he either will not or cannot elaborate. He thinks he might have slept in the alcove for the last five years, and considers it his sanctuary. Locals agree Royal's been there a long, long time, sitting quietly and alone.

He'll likely be one of the rough sleepers Auckland Council has announced it will count on the night of September 17. Mayor Phil Goff says this census will be the first step towards eradicating homelessness in the city.

**READ MORE:

* Alison Mau: prepare to be shocked by homelessness figures

* Experts warn homelessness in Auckland will be worse this winter

* Pregnant and homeless on the cold city streets

* Rough sleepers in South Auckland 'kicked awake' by security guards**

Moira Lawler, the chief executive of Lifewise – an organisation dedicated to helping the homeless and working with the government on its Housing First initiative – applauds the project.

'You can't solve a problem until you're aware of the scale of the problem so this is a really important step forward,' she says.

On whether homelessness will in fact end, Lawler is less absolutist than Goff. She says 'there will always' be kids thrown out of home, women escaping abusive relationships, and traumatic events stripping people of their capacity to cope with the admin of regular life. The council's long-term goal should more realistically be defined as to make homelessness 'rare, brief, and non-recurring', she reckons.

'If you have a system that is working, when somebody hits the streets they're picked up very quickly, they're housed permanently, and they're supported to stay housed. Then you don't have people establishing themselves on the streets for decades.'

Lawler separates the homeless into two categories: those with insecure housing – families sleeping on the floor of another family's home, young people couchsurfing, those in emergency shelters or motels funded by the Ministry of Social Development – and the 'the literally homeless or chronic rough sleepers', like Royal.

The latter group is what the council want to gather data on, and who Lifewise work to get housed. But they are also the ones who, when asked outright, tend to say they're resigned to life on the streets – and who get written off by society as an unfortunate but inescapable part of a city's fabric.

Royal, for instance, says he's settled. Food and money aren't a problem – there's nourishment to be found in Grey Lynn rubbish bins and while he doesn't actively beg, passersby toss him the odd dollar. He's a Diogenes-ish figure and appreciates his alcove without complaint.

'There aren't many places like this,' he proudly gestures at the roof and elevated concrete he's sitting on, which protect him from rain. 'I'm not comfortable, no, but I've got no choice and it's alright.'

When asked how he spends his day, Royal replies 'waiting'. Not for an agency dedicated to helping the homeless out, but for 'the people from Holden, you know, the car people'. He hopes they will give him some gear, a tent perhaps, and if they do he will move into a park. He can't explain why he expects Holden staff to take an interest in him, and says he can't imagine living in a proper house.

STREET FIGHTS AND DRUG DEALS GONE WRONG

Gordon Robinson, 44, hails from Gisborne and says he's been living on the street since he was 13. His shopping trolleys of belongings are often lined up by a City Star convenience store in downtown Auckland. A slight woman with a black eye and cut cheek sat with Robinson on Wednesday; she says she's no longer homeless but still comes to 'hang out' with her buddies on the streets.

Robinson is eager to speak about rough sleeping in Auckland on camera  – he says he's got 'a lot to say' – but within 10 seconds, after a drag on his cigarette, he nods off to sleep in his chair.

A man passing by comments that we won't get anything out of Robinson.

Robinson opens an eye, spies the black jacketed man – Max, the manager of an apartment block nearby – and lurches towards him.

'I'll burn your f…… head off,' Robinson yells, and motions for a fight.

Max stands his ground calmly, it's not his first interaction with this rough sleeper.

He says Robinson and up to 10 cronies regularly 'get hammered on beer and drugs' outside his apartment block, verbally threaten residents, and fall asleep in the carpark.

'You can't help them when they're at that age, it's the life they have chosen. They can't come back because their health is trashed and their perception of life is trashed too,' he says.

'It's the worst I've seen it in 14 years in Auckland and there is nothing we can do about it because the police won't touch them.'

On a rainy day outside ACG Senior College on Rutland St, in the CBD, a man is convulsing next to a black t-shirt dotted with coins. He holds out a stained paper coffee cup for money as he jitters, then struggles up and seems semi-recovered.

He introduces himself with a fist bump as 'Matua' Kevin and says he's been homeless for the last 12 of his 60-odd years.

'Living outdoors, they call it,' he says shakily. 'We're a mixed bag of lollies out here and we've all got our spots. Us seniors will give the young ones a hiding if they don't obey the rule of the street.'

News of the council's proposed count – as a harbinger of help – makes Kevin feel optimistic for better access to showers, but he says many rough sleepless have trust issues with authorities that are a barrier to cooperation.

'A lot of us have seen broken promises and them running away from responsibility,' he says. 'We don't trust the guys inside will do what they say they're going to do.'

Kevin says drugs are widely consumed on the streets and that drug deals gone wrong lead to fights amongst the homeless. He admitted to smoking synthetic cannabis himself, and that he believes he'll be on the streets until he dies.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

But Lawler is adamant it's not too late for Royal, Robinson, Kevin and Shane – another long-time homeless man we spoke with who lived in a tent deep in the Symonds St cemetery last year – to take to housing. Lifewise currently have 45 former rough sleepers housed, whose average time on the street was 14 years.

Lawler believes being homeless by choice is a myth that needs busting: 'at most it's a choice someone's made amongst a range of incredibly bad options,' she says.

​'When we're out there talking to people living on the streets, initially they do say 'oh, I'm better off where I am'. But when they realise they are seriously being given choice – and that they can trust us – they do want to be housed.'

63-year-old Honotama spent almost two decades sleeping rough in west Auckland and is testament that chronic homelessness can be beaten.

He says he wound up on the streets after losing loved ones, and got unexpected support from Auckland's many other rough sleepers in the same boat. But Honotama found housing three years ago through Lifewise, and wants to help get his old mates under roofs too.

He will be one of 750 volunteers out counting those sleeping on the streets and in cars on September 17 and his insider intel will be valuable; Honotama not only knows where to find homeless people, but how to speak with them.

'They won't talk properly to someone they don't know, who doesn't understand what life's like out there,' he says.

'I'm here to tell them life is better inside and that they can get help.'