‘A new face every day’: Christchurch’s hidden homeless is ageing

Friday, 15 December 2023

Christchurch’s homeless population is diverse, ageing, and often hidden in cars or on couches in all corners of the city.

Josh Gardiner, whose full-time job is working with Christchurch’s homeless population for the City Mission, says he meets a new person every day who doesn’t have a home.

He starts work at 7am, travelling to known hotspots or locations which had been referred to him by concerned members of the public.

The oldest person he has met so far was 72 and sleeping in a garden shed, Gardiner said.

“I have visited people that are not only on our streets, but living in carparks, overcrowded housing, also in sheds and garages,” he said.

“I’m seeing full-time workers, part-time workers that don’t have homes; sleeping in their cars, going to do 12-hour shifts, finding somewhere to sleep, waking up, trying to find somewhere to clean themselves and get to work.”

Speaking at Christchurch City Council’s last full council meeting for the year on Tuesday, Gardiner and his manager Melissa McCreanor explained that the City Mission’s new outreach programme was having an impact and there was merit in funding a second outreach person.

Between August and November, the City Mission gave out 113 sleeping bags, 79 pairs of shoes, 52 woollen blankets and more.

After gaining someone’s trust and respect, Gardiner was able to refer them on to health services and other support.

Gardiner said he interacted with a homeless person in Christchurch roughly 10 times a day, but “I am just one person and Christchurch is a big city”.

Although the City Mission was not requesting funding from council in the public presentation, the staff emphasised the importance of collaborating with institutions like the city council.

McCreanor said even the walk from the City Mission to the council building was proof of impact, as Gardiner was stopped multiple times so someone could shake his hand and chat.

She said the City Mission was interested getting another community outreach worker — ideally with lived experience of homelessness — so they could expand the programme to after hours and weekends.

Their biggest challenge is that homeless people move around, she said.

“If you’re not seeing them in the central city, its because a lot of the time they’re out in your wards, your suburbs,” she said.

She said the demographic of people needing help were older, and many were struggling to access emergency housing.

Councillor Tim Scandrett questioned how the city could be building so many new homes, yet homelessness persisted.

Gardiner said what the city was missing was transitional housing. This is housing which is not permanent but is more stable than emergency housing which only tenants people from week to week.

“It’s not as easy as going, ‘right, here’s a house, here’s one of our homeless people’,” McCreanor said.

“There’s a whole lot of work in that space and wrap-around support that needs to happen for that person to stay in that house.”

“Homelessness does not discriminate,” Gardiner said. “It does not care for your age, it does not care for your race. If you are homeless, it is ready to consume you.”