The other aspect I want to look at is the contrast of living situations. How those continuing with day to day living in different socio-economic groups view those begging on the streets. Through my first photo shoots and research I found, most people make a conscious effort to not make eye contact and completely ignore them. I personally found walking the streets, and having to make a conscious note of everyone how uncomfortable I found doing this. To the point where i got money out and started giving coins to each one I say. You would see men in business suits with brief cases walk right past, as beggars would sit outside of stores promoting lotos big wednesday. Although it is not my intention at all to form opinions or judgments on how these people have come into these situations, through the photography topic itself it is very thought provoking and makes you contemplate many social understandings. For me anyway it has made me think about how I view these people and if it is right to be just walking past. I find that these people seem to have become a lost community of people/ or have a stereotype that many people tend to ignore because it may not be pretty with in main stream society. It is this idea I would also like to photograph. Is there a way to be in that situation but then have a completely different version of how you are living in your head? it is these idea i am looking to explore.
For the Turangawaewae brief I want to look into the idea of the absence of Turangawaewae and what happens for those who don’t feel like they have a home or sense of grounding in society, for those living on the streets, and how being homeless or how someones circumstances has founded there way of living. I thought i could photograph not just people but the feel of street movement, textures,ambience, contrast of situations and different aspects of street photography. I am really interested in more the social/ethical issues surrounding this and thought this would be a really interesting aspect of the brief to look at. I know for myself personally, looking at Wellington as home, what makes it home, is the reason I am here, to study as a stepping stone, for life's pathway to a career. That idea however is a psychological state rather than a physical place. Although i have a flat and a bed, I would still say that Wellington is a temporary home due to my circumstances. As Turangawaewae can be seen to show your outside world reflecting your inner sense of security or foundations, i find the idea of focusing on those who live on the edge of society an interesting subject. My thought process has led me to think if home to them is, as it is to me, a psychological point. If you can take something with you that brings comfort. There are physical locations, such as the Wellington Night Shelter and the soup kitchens, Salvation Army's, places that provide a support shelter for these people, however the streets themselves tends to be the place of most common residence. I wonder if like myself the drive of something is the factor of security that builds that sense of belonging, for myself it is the drive of a successful career, thus university, however could this same pull be toward alcohol, drugs, or maybe the hope of being out of that situation. Through some of my research I read that some of the street sleepers, put themselves there intentionally as it saves money to spend on Alcohol.
The other aspect I want to look at is the contrast of living situations. How those continuing with day to day living in different socio-economic groups view those begging on the streets. Through my first photo shoots and research I found, most people make a conscious effort to not make eye contact and completely ignore them. I personally found walking the streets, and having to make a conscious note of everyone how uncomfortable I found doing this. To the point where i got money out and started giving coins to each one I say. You would see men in business suits with brief cases walk right past, as beggars would sit outside of stores promoting lotos big wednesday. Although it is not my intention at all to form opinions or judgments on how these people have come into these situations, through the photography topic itself it is very thought provoking and makes you contemplate many social understandings. For me anyway it has made me think about how I view these people and if it is right to be just walking past. I find that these people seem to have become a lost community of people/ or have a stereotype that many people tend to ignore because it may not be pretty with in main stream society. It is this idea I would also like to photograph. Is there a way to be in that situation but then have a completely different version of how you are living in your head? it is these idea i am looking to explore. The Wellington Night Shelter is a site i am considering as a focus point for my photography project on place and belonging, as although it feels slightly contradictory,i want to look at what home is when you have none of the elements of home. For those sleeping on the streets and in undesirable circumstances, what do they rely on for support and comfort. This building is an interesting sit that carries a lot of history, has touched a lot of people and also deals with ethical/social issues. What We Do... We provide 3 levels of support for homeless men in Wellington:
We provide a first point of contact for clients (men) often in crisis situations. Ideally giving the recipient a good night’s rest and a chance to start the self-care process again. We aim to waive the service charge if the client has no verifiable form of income. Stage 2: hostel ($125/week)Hostel services provide a single room, and experience of semi-independent living with shared facilities. Hostel services include wraparound social service work interventions which start to support the clients in addressing issues around why they are homeless, and to help them rebuild life skills in preparation for moving back into the housing market.
This service is supported in particular by Community Alcohol Drug Service, Te Aro Health and Downtown Community Ministry. Stage 3: community supportThe Nightshelter provides temporary accommodation but also wants to support homeless people to be able to improve their health and wellbeing and gain permanent housing. The Nightshelter collaborates with other groups working with homeless people and also with two outreach programmes to assist clients to access other supports. Downtown Community Ministry and Te Aro Health Services.An Outreach worker is employed with Downtown Community Ministry and works in collaboration with Te Aro Health Services. The Outreach worker is available to assist Nightshelter clients at the Nightshelter, Soup Kitchen, Te Aro Health Services and Downtown Community Ministry. Te Roopu Aramuka WharoaroaTe Roopu Aramuka Wharoaroa is a Capital Coast District Health Board strengths-based co-ordination service that works closely with other services. This service is available to priority Nightshelter clients to assist them to improve their health and wellbeing. http://www.wellingtonnightshelter.org.nz/what-we-do/ The hidden costs of homelessness - BEN HEATHERKEVIN STENT/Fairfax NZ
CHANGES NEEDED: Rick Parry, pictured in his room at the Wellington night shelter, has been hospitalised three times in the past month and has been told he may not survive the winter. Hospitals are discharging homeless patients on to the streets, including those admitted with serious illnesses or addiction. Homeless agencies say the practice puts vulnerable people back into the worst possible environment - and wastes public money. District Health Board figures show scores of patients are discharged to "no fixed abode" in Wellington and Auckland every year. Dozens more have been discharged to emergency shelters or the Auckland City Mission, which has no capacity to house them. Homeless support agencies claim the Corrections Department and mental health services are also kicking people out on to the street. Corrections said this was "extremely rare" but has refused to release figures. Mike Leon, who runs the Wellington Night Shelter, said the emergency accommodation provider had become a dumping spot for those who needed long-term care. In the past month alone, two mentally ill men had been discharged from supported accommodation and dropped off at the shelter, he said. On one occasion, a nurse had asked him to administer a man's medication but he refused. "We are increasingly being used as an alternative to a mental health ward but we are not trained for that." Others never turned up at the shelter, discharged instead on to the street before inevitably returning to hospital, he said. "We are pouring money into tertiary care . . . to get them to a point where we can kick them out again. It's incredibly wasteful." Capital and Coast District Health Board figures show there were 41 hospital discharges to the Wellington Night Shelter last year. An additional 85 were released to "no fixed abode". In Auckland, there were more than 300 discharges from hospitals to "no fixed abode" including 28 to the Auckland City Mission, which faces a shortage of beds. Another 15 were discharged to the Auckland emergency night shelter, which closed last year. Most were discharged from a hospital emergency department. The figures are for discharges, rather than people, and in some instances the same person is being readmitted repeatedly. Auckland DHB stressed that someone with "no fixed abode" was not necessarily homeless but Wellington Downtown Community Ministry director Stephanie McIntyre said the real number of discharges on to the street was probably even higher, as many homeless patients would give fake addresses. Hospitals and other health providers were not uncaring, but often had nowhere to discharge homeless patients, she said. "How can we possibly think that someone who has had significant mental health treatment will be OK back on the street? But what do you do?" One solution would be funding dedicated long-term accommodation for the most severely ill or addicted, McIntyre said. "Homes for 15 or 20 of these [vulnerable] people is a more cost-effective solution. Rather than having them in and out of hospital." Auckland City Mission homeless outreach manager Garrick Martin said previously there was a significant problem with homeless people being discharged with no support. "A couple of years ago people were being discharged to the street after having a triple bypass." Auckland DHBs and support agencies had since reached an agreement to flag homeless patients and refer them on to support. This included a policy prohibiting the discharge of homeless people on to the streets or to emergency accommodation. Since then there had been far fewer problems, but a lack of long-term accommodation meant the policy was not always followed, Martin said. "It has improved, but we are not there yet. We hope we will get there." Robert Ford, the planning and funding manager for Auckland DHB's mental health and addiction service, said there was a robust process of screening homeless patients and connecting them to support. However, homeless people sometimes refused help. In other instances, there was simply nowhere to send them, he said. Capital and Coast's mental health clinical director for addictions and intellectual disability, Nigel Fairley, said hospital patients were offered support and their accommodation needs were "assessed". Mental health patients were only discharged when the right level of support was in place. This included "appropriate" accommodation, he said. The DHB does fund a pilot outreach service, called Te Roopu Aramuka Wharoaroa, which works intensively with about a dozen of Wellington's most desperate homeless. VICTIM OF THE SYSTEM It is only a matter of time before Rick Parry is back in hospital. The 57-year-old alcoholic has been admitted to Wellington Hospital's emergency department three times in the past month. The first two times he was admitted after collapsing in the street. The third time he was referred by his doctor, who bluntly told him he was drinking and starving himself to death. "My doctor told me if I don't do something, I won't see the winter out." However, without intervention, there is little hope for change. Every time Parry is admitted to hospital he is kept long enough for a recovery and then discharged. He returns to his small room at the Wellington Night Shelter, where he has already overstayed his welcome, and spends most of his day in Cuba Mall drinking and begging. Parry said although the food and medical care at the hospital were welcome, staff were not interested in his circumstances. "They didn't ask me where I was going or how I'm going to get there. They just kicked me out on the street." He does not attend drug and alcohol counselling - he has refused, claiming it will not work - and attempts to get into a rehabilitation programme have so far also failed. He left his last rehabilitation stint in January last year, one of his many visits over the decades. Since then, he has been living in the shelter and spending most of his days on the streets. He says he weighs 47 kilograms and often does not eat for days, claiming he has "no appetite". His skinny forearms are covered in bruises and weeping sores from regularly passing out on the street. Parry is desperate to get back into residential rehabilitation but feels the system has probably given up on him. "When you get to my age and you've been around the tracks they don't want to know." Night shelter manager Mike Leon said it was easy to blame Parry for his dire situation but the reality was that without help, he would die. "In a few days or weeks he will be back in hospital. If he doesn't get residential treatment he will die." He and other support agencies have been attempting to find alternative accommodation for Parry for months without luck. Leon insists Parry will not be kicked out on to the street but his time at the shelter is running out. Subsequent to the Star-Times approaching the Capital & Coast District Health concerning Parry, he was accepted into a residential rehabilitation programme last week. Rough end of street life bites- The Dominion Post Wellington by KEVIN STENT/Fairfax NZHOMELESS: Steve Walters, 58, pictured in his night shelter cubicle, has been staying there for five weeks after he was forced to leave an Easy Access flat for people with disabilities in Kilbirnie.
A year ago tomorrow Ben Hana - better known as Blanket Man - died, after years of hard living on Wellington's streets. Since then, the number of people roughing it in the city has, by some counts, doubled. Ben Heather reports. They start gathering before 9.30am, huddled around the locked door in a back alley in downtown Wellington. Some have been awake since before 7.30am after being ushered out of the Wellington night shelter. Others have emerged from secret sleeping dens, hidden in the back-end of buildings or makeshift camps in the town belt. When the doors open at 10am, there is a small but orderly rush. Many want food, others want to withdraw money and many just need advice. This ritual is carried out every morning at the Downtown Community Ministry which provides a food bank, advice and even banking services to people on low incomes. Director Stephanie McIntyre says the ministry deals with about 400 clients each quarter. Roughly half are homeless - some living on the street, others couch- surfing or boarding. While the number using the service was steady, their overall living conditions had deteriorated. The number of clients living at the "sharp end" - sleeping rough on the streets or in the night shelter - doubled early last year to more than 50 and has remained high since. Homeless agencies estimate that between 50 and 100 people live on the streets or in emergency housing in Wellington. Wellington night shelter manager Mike Leon says that in the early 1990s there were fewer than 30. So who are these people and how do they end up on the street? Most are unemployed men, usually middle-aged, and many have alcohol or drug problems and some form of mental illness. Before ending up on the streets, most were already living precariously in boarding houses or couch-surfing with friends. Once on the street, it becomes increasingly difficult to get off it. Without a fixed abode or identification they cannot set up a bank account. Without a bank account they cannot receive a Work and Income payment. Without an income, they cannot get housed. If a homeless person does get into a home, it often becomes an informal gathering place for his homeless friends, which can eventually lead to eviction. Ms McIntyre says many factors were behind the rise in sharp-end homelessness, but a chronic shortage of affordable housing was the biggest. Upgrades to Wellington City Council and Housing NZ social housing during the past year had taken hundreds of homes offline at a time when demand was rising. "There is one man living in a hole in the ground. He has been on the Housing New Zealand list for months." Night shelter resident Don, 45, says he has been on the waiting list for a council or Housing NZ unit for nine months. He has been living at the Wellington night shelter, renting a private room for $125 a week. He pays for the rent out of his invalid's benefit for a medical condition that makes it painful to walk or stand. Don has lived precariously for years but says it is becoming increasingly easy for people to end up without a home. "The private rents are too high for people on welfare so where do you go? There is a waiting list for council and Housing New Zealand places." He sleeps on the street occasionally but does not like the label "homeless". "I'm technically homeless but I'm not out there getting drunk every night." Under New Zealand's definition - introduced in 2009 - homelessness describes anyone without a secure home, from sleeping rough to boarding houses. Agencies that support the homeless in Wellington say with high unemployment and tightening social spending more are being shoved towards the sharp end. Mr Leon deals with the sharp end between 5.30pm every night - when he opens the doors to about 20 homeless men - and 7.30am the next morning when he has to kick them out. He sees about 20 new faces every month, and says their circumstances are increasingly dire. "We are seeing more and more desperate people." Mr Leon agrees a housing shortage is one of the biggest problems. "Housing New Zealand isn't building anymore, council isn't building anymore but the need is increasing. Where does that lead?" Wellington City Council has about 2300 social housing units in the city and Housing NZ 8975, although only 1600 are in Wellington city. Both agencies have been upgrading their housing stock in the past year, but are keen to emphasise how all displaced tenants are successfully rehoused. Neither organisation is planning to increase their housing stock but talk enthusiastically about "partnering" with third parties to build affordable housing. Last May, Housing NZ kicked out 131 tenants from its Gordon Wilson complex after the building was found to be quake prone. In the Wellington region, the number of Housing NZ homes remains steady. However, while available housing hasn't shrunk, the number of people on the high priority waiting list has more than tripled in the past two years. The problem has finally sparked action or at least talk. In May, social agencies, Wellington City Council and representatives of the homeless community met to develop a plan to end homelessness. The resulting draft strategy will be made public next month, with many agencies, including the Downtown Community Ministry and the Wellington night shelter, optimistic about its success. But Don, who took part in the talks last year, is sceptical. "I was quite enthusiastic at the time but I'm still waiting for something. It's starting to seem like lip service." Even if the homeless services work seamlessly and are well-funded, they will still run up against many homeless people who refuse to admit they even have a problem. A young Chinese man who spoke to The Dominion Post had been living in a car in Mt Victoria for two months after losing his job. He described the arrangement as a holiday. Another night shelter regular, who gave his name as John, portrayed street life as bit of a party, recalling how he and his friends would stay up all night getting drunk on the kerbside dregs left by retiring bar patrons. His argument against housing was that rent simply sucked up funds that could be better employed buying drugs and alcohol. "Some people want to remain homeless to have more money to spend. I pay $70 [a week at the night shelter] here and get more money for piss." Asked whether he would prefer to have a home, John sidesteps the question. "This is the best city to be homeless. Here it is really easy." SHELTER WAS NOT FUTURE HE HOPED FOR For Steve Walters the worst thing about homelessness is boredom. Each day the 58-year-old leaves the night shelter at 7.30am and wanders the streets of Wellington. Sometimes, if he has enough money, he will buy some beer and find a quiet corner to drink. "I just walk around and try to find something to entertain myself. The boredom is very hard." Today he is visiting drug and alcohol services to see if he can enter a rehabilitation programme. It won't be the first time, but he hopes this time it will work. Life wasn't always as precarious for Steve. As a younger man, he worked as a computer programmer for New Zealand Post. He also worked as an analyst for several government agencies and major banks. However, alcohol has been a major part of his life, even while he was employed. One night after leaving a bar, he was found at the bottom of Plimmer Steps, with a cracked and bleeding head covered in glass. The injury was more than 15 years ago, but Steve say it has led to mental difficulties contributing to his precarious living arrangement. Steve struggles to concentrate or remember events clearly. He receives a sickness benefit for chronic anxiety and depression. "I tried to go back to work but my concentration had changed quite a bit. I've got all sort of complications with the cracked head." In December, the six-month lease on his Easy Access flat - short-term housing for people with disabilities - in Kilbirnie expired and he was out on the street for the first time. His drinking - which he says was manageable in the flat - has become heavier, partly out of boredom, and his health has deteriorated. "This is not something I would have put down in my desires or hopes for the future." "I don't think of myself as a habitual drunk. It's just that circumstances can force you into places you don't want to be." - © Fairfax NZ News | Saved Stories Dominion Post Homepage Comments Login to post a comment: Log in or sign up Fezzyfestapot467 days ago My sister has been living on the streets of Wellington for 2 years. She does not drink or do drugs. She is in her early 30's. She has been mentally ill for around 4 years. Her family, friends, neighbours have all tried to get her help. The mental health system has ignored her thus far. It is not a lifestyle choice to eat out of bins. The mental health system and it's policies are so PC that they do not recognise her illness. She has to find help herself which she is incapable of doing. There are no shelters for women in Wellington. She has no where to go. This is a huge problem in the homeless populatation, yet only alcohol and drug dependence are the only aspects that are really talked about. The mental health system needs to reform. After much lobbying and complaints, my sister went into care the other day. if she had received help when we had asked she would not have to endure life on the streets. Many homeless people have family who want to help but are powerless because of the system. - http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/8173211/Rough-end-of-street-life-bites Keith CarterKeith Carter is an American photographer, and creates his works so they have almost a dream like quality. His subject matter most commonly surrounds people, animals and objects and normally has one strong focal point to the image. the majority of his series are black and white high contrasting photographs which have a certain intensity and intrigue that draws you in. I really like the simplicity of the black and white and the way his photos have an almost frightening feeling to them, but also that you could be waking up from that dream at any point. His work has inspired me to try and contrast two themes together, with the idea of having a psychological place of belonging, where you are in your comfortable environment, even if your outside environment may not reflect this. Adam FussFuss began his career as a photographic apprentice at the Ogilvy & Mather Agency in 1980. In 1982 he moved to New York City and took a series of odd jobs, including that of a waiter in an art cafe and for parties at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fuss began a series of pinhole-camera images in 1984 and began exhibiting his work iat Massimo Audiello’s gallery. Fuss’s works have since been exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world. Adam Fuss is known for photographing unusual subject matter with an emphasis on composition.Fuss became distinguished and popular through his use of both historical and contemporary photographic techniques,capturing a broad range of emotive subject matter. His work has an almost ghostly nostalgic feel to it that manages to capture and hold your attention. Although like Abelardo Morell, Fuss reverts back to the most basic concepts of light and image recording, with pinhole cameras and negative imagery, the ambience of his work i think is important to take note of for my own digital work. David HamiltonI personally love the softness and femininity of David Hamilton's work. Although he has been seen to be a controversial photographer taking photos of women in a slightly provocative way, he manages to capture a daydream like feel to his work, both in portraits and outdoor scenes. His photos hold that grainy looking filter, which I assume now is through his use of ISO adjustments, but i love the light he gets over his imagery. Abelardo Morell Abelardo Morell moved from Cuba to New York City at age 14. He was introduced to photography at Bowdoin College in Maine, and used the camera to express his feelings about being an immigrant. As a student, Morell was deeply influenced by Robert Frank. He spent the early part of his career working in New York City and Miami as a street photographer. Morell graduated with an M.F.A. from Yale in 1981 and later began teaching at the Massachussetts College of Art in Boston. When Morell’s son was born in 1986, his photography changed radically. He began to produce photographs of domestic objects seen from a child’s perspective. Morell also produced a lot of his work based on camera obscura techniques and early dark room photography, creating whole tents to mirror dark rooms, made to capture landscapes or natural scenery. He often contrasts two ideas or shows surreal worlds with in his photos, something is always slightly conceptual and I like that you feel like there layers of depth to read into about each work. |