These facts do not, on their own, guarantee a life on the street. The truth is, most of us are only a few bits of bad luck away from this story being ours. An injury that ends our ability to work, a debt that means we can\u2019t pay a mortgage. A relationship breakdown. A mental health crisis \u2013 more than 20% of New Zealanders experience some form of mental illness in any given year, and nearly half will in our lifetimes. Substance use that turns harmful, as it will for more than a quarter of us.<\/p>\n
The people we\u2019re fortunate to be in relationship with at the Mission include people with PhDs, elite athletes, talented musicians, mums and dads; people for whom life went quite severely sideways. None of us is as far from losing everything as we\u2019d like to think.<\/p>\n
And you know what? That is a scary thought. It\u2019s confronting to see someone suffering, and feel there\u2019s nothing you can do. It\u2019s hard on the heart to know we live in such a beautiful, abundant country while people go without the basics. Some find it easier to look away than to look someone in the eye and think, \u201cI could be you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill was announced in February, the Mission\u2019s outreach team has seen more people sleeping rough in the suburbs, dispersing from the CBD in anticipation of the move-on orders coming into force. Most people sleeping rough don\u2019t know the finer details of what is or isn\u2019t law yet, what they can and can\u2019t do under the new rules. They just don\u2019t want to get into trouble.<\/p>\n
Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
And so, many of you will have noticed new faces in your neighbourhoods. These are people with families, friends, opinions, interests, strengths and flaws. The irony of this bill is that it has made it harder than ever to ignore homelessness. We have asked since the orders were proposed: \u201cWhere will people go?\u201d Now we\u2019re finding out, the question becomes: \u201cHow will we welcome them?\u201d<\/p>\n
We cannot ignore these new members of our communities, because your \u201celsewhere\u201d will always be someone else\u2019s \u201csomewhere\u201d. Until we live in a country where there is a home for everyone, and the means for people to make a life from that home, this is our reality. So instead of ignoring these new faces, perhaps we could try accepting them, and see what happens. Take the time to get to know your new neighbours, to meet their gaze, to say, \u201cGood morning\u201d.<\/p>\n
What you learn may surprise you. Your life might even become richer for knowing someone who leads a life that, right now, looks quite different from yours. Someone you might never have met, had they not been moved on from our city centre.<\/p>\n
Helen Robinson is chief executive of the Auckland City Mission.<\/p>\n