Press Release

All-nighter To Bring Hope for the Homeless

On Saturday, 15 October, Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing is honouring its ten-year history of serving the homeless by challenging the public to sleep-out overnight on the Canopy Bridge in Whangarei’s Town Basin.

‘We want to highlight the nature of homeless in our local community’, says Trust Chairperson Adrian Whale. ‘Often it remains hidden with people living in garages, overcrowded homes, or couch-surfing from place to place. So rather than keeping the issue hidden under the bridge, we will be trying to sleep on top of it…. in a very public place.’ ‘A bridge is a great symbol for what we do as an organisation. Desperate families and single men walk through our door. We provide them with a warm welcome, a chance to share their story and a safe place to stay. We find that when we take the housing stress out of their lives they are able to focus on facing other pressures, especially with the support of our staff team. We act as the bridge between crisis and hope, moving people from transience to more permanent housing, helping them re-engage with the services they need.’ Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Trust began in 2006 through the collaborative efforts of several Whangarei churches in response to a community research project that found an urgent need for short-term accommodation in the city. It now operates three properties and at any one time can accommodate up to eight families and six single-men, who stay for three-to-four months.

‘We estimate we have helped over 1,200 households since we began. We want to honour that effort on Saturday night. But we also want to voice our concern that we have been overwhelmed by demand for our service over the past 6-months. We are at levels of intensity that we have never experience before. Since January enquiries have jumped from 29 per month to 40 per month. It feels like a dam has burst.’ ‘We are now working more closely with Ministry of Social Development, who have also seen an increase over the past year in the number of people on the Whangarei social housing waiting list.

Our aim is to lease another property from Housing NZ by the end of October but this will not be enough to solve the homeless situation here. We do believe homelessness is solvable but the whole community needs to be involved.’ ‘So anyone is invited to turn up at the Canopy Bridge from 5pm on Saturday to register and experience a night of homelessness by sleeping on the bridge or in their cars. As part of the night we will have an official welcome, a cake-cutting ceremony, free soup and bread provided by Soul Food, and a chance to hear ex-tenants stories as well as live music. We are looking forward to a fun night even if it’s not going to be a comfortable one, ‘ says Mr Whale.

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Emergency Housing Charitable Trust invites you to experience one night of homelessness. Join us as we sleep-out on the Canopy Bridge at Whangarei’s Town Basin. Families can opt to sleep in their own car in designated areas.

Together we will honour the 10 years that Emergency Housing Trust has been helping people in crisis find a home, with an evening of guest speakers, singing, a simple dinner and then trying to sleep.

Please support this vital community service by following the links below to register, get sponsors or make a donation.

All Registrations must be in before 1 Oct 2016 (no walk ups) Fee payable to confirm registration (non-refundable) $10 per person 16 years of age and over $5 per child under 16 (must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian) Register at: http://emergencyhousing.org.nz/UPCOMING-EVENTS/ What to bring: warm clothing, sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, sleeping mat, plastic sheet, a drink bottle and mug/cup.

Sponsorship

Take the sleep-out challenge one step further and see how many people will sponsor you for sleeping-out. Sponsorship forms are available at: http://emergencyhousing.org.nz/UPCOMING-EVENTS/ Donations If you cannot make the sleep-out, please support us by making a taxdeductible donation at: http://emergencyhousing.org.nz/DONATE-NOW/

TTECHT_timeline.pdf

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