Beneath the veneer of a shiny new Christchurch lies a hidden wound–homelessness.

By Bill Morris for Frank Film

At least 250 people are known to be sleeping rough on the streets of Ōtautahi, and the true number is likely to be much higher. That’s because homelessness, as Frank Film discovers, often means hiding away; from the elements, and from society.

Keenan Rush is an outreach worker with Christchurch Methodist Mission. Alongside nurse and social worker Pam Sharpe, he walks the streets of Christchurch in the early hours of most mornings attempting to engage with homeless people; to warm them with a cup of coffee and to pull them towards support services. The pair search known haunts – under bridges, in bushes. But often the hardest bit is actually finding the homeless; “I guess that’s their superpower, just kind of disappearing,” says Rush.

When Rush, Sharpe and the city’s other outreach workers do find homeless people, they’re often unwilling to engage; habituated to surviving on their own, they shun the approach of help. Sometimes, there are angry words and altercations. Sharpe, who works for the Roger Wright Community Clinic as a registered nurse, has seen and heard it all before. It doesn’t stop her being out here on the streets at the crack of dawn, even when bitter Canterbury frosts grip the city – “As a decent society, we need to let them know that we care,” she says.

Homelessness, she says, is insidious. “We're a population of 5 million and we can't get our housing right. There's something very wrong.”

15 years on from the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch is experiencing a glittering resurgence, with property prices strong as people flock to a shiny newbuilt city. But that, says Housing First Ōtautahi manager Nicola Fleming, masks the underlying problems around homelessness. “It's hidden, more so in this city than it is elsewhere,” she says. “What we see now is a different type of homelessness: lots of whānau and kids in cars. Lots of elderly.” Roughly half of New Zealand’s severely housing-deprived are now women.

Housing First is a nationwide organisation with a simple brief: to home the homeless. Its core philosophy is a belief that having a warm, dry place to live is fundamental to a person’s ability to function in society.
“We will house anyone in whatever condition they are,” says Fleming. “They don't have to be sober. They don't have to be drug-free. We will just house them first and put them into recovery.”

Not surprisingly, they can’t keep up with demand in Christchurch, with hundreds on their waiting list and many more pouring through the door every day. “We’re on the back foot the whole time,” Fleming says.

Housing First does not discriminate around who they work with–the only criteria is that a person has been homeless for more than a year. Convincing property owners to let out their houses to someone who’s been living rough is no easy task, but there are benefits for landlords. Rent payment is guaranteed, and the service provides a dedicated tenancy manager who conducts frequent routine checks. “We rely on landlords who have empathy,” says Fleming; “who want to support the needs of someone sleeping rough and are willing to support their recovery journey.”

Getting a house can turn a person's life around, as testified by Andy, who was living in a tiny caravan until being placed in a home by Housing First. “What these people have done for me is just unbelievable,” he says.

Homelessness, says Fleming, is easy to ignore, especially when it’s so invisible. But we ignore it at our peril. “We always say people are one paycheck from being homeless, one traumatic episode, one family breakdown, one death, one job loss,” says Fleming. “It can happen very quickly to anyone.”


Participants thanks:

Keenan Rush
Pam Sharpe
Nicola Fleming
Mel Sutherland
Sam Rapana
Josh Potter-Gardiner
Nameeta Shekhar
Andy
The Outreach Team at Housing First Ōtautahi
The unhoused participants

Thanks to:

Housing First Ōtautahi
Rodger Wright Clinic
Methodist Mission
City Mission


Director, Producer and Camera: Gerard Smyth
Researcher & Second Camera: Bill Morris
Line Producers: Kirsty Cooper & Antony Miller
Editor: Sarah Grohnert
Colour & Online: Mike Kelland
Audio Post: Chris Sinclair

Funded by NZ On Air