Addressing Homeless in Auckland City
We know that some of you, as business owners or residents, encounter homeless people as you go about your business each day. It is fair that you expect to live and work in harmony with your neighbours, so we have produced this leaflet to work towards achieving a community that is safe, responsive and caring.
LIFEWISE, the AUCKLAND CITY MISSION and the SALVATION ARMY work with homeless people every day and are working hard in difficult circumstances to deal with the issue of homelessness in our city. Most of our clients do not choose to be homeless but are affected by a range of problems which we are addressing with them. The number of homeless people who cause problems is relatively small and we do our best to ensure safety and well-being for them and others. If you call us the chances are high that we will already know the person involved, which may make it easier for us to step in and support you when there is a problem.
We felt it was important to make sure you all have easy access to information about how to deal with some of the concerns you may have about homelessness in our City.
For urgent matters such as a serious crime, injury or accident, dial 111
Phone Downtown or Central Police stations if your concern is about:
- property damage or theft
- drunk and disorderly behaviour
Phone LIFEWISE, AUCKLAND CITY MISSION or the SALVATION ARMY if your concern is:
- that a homeless person may need non-urgent medical assistance
- people sleeping rough in your doorways or on the footpath outside your building
- homeless people causing disturbance to customers while sitting outside your
- shop, business or residence
- concerning behaviour by homeless people or their dogs
When you contact us we may do a number of things including:
- Talk to you about it on the phone and discuss solutions
- Visit you and discuss possible ways to manage the situation
- Visit you and the homeless person to try to work through the issue together
- Encourage the homeless person to make use of our combined range of support services – food, emergency accommodation, medical help, contact with Government services etc
IMPORTANT COMMUNITY CONTACT PHONE NUMBERS
Auckland Central Police: (09) 302 64000 24 hours
Auckland City Mission: (09) 379 2395 Mon – Fri 7.30am -9.30pm Sat/ Sunday 10am – 6pm
LIFEWISE Phone: (09) 912 9672 Mon – Fri 7am – 3pm
Downtown Police: (09) 379 4500 24 hours
The Salvation Army: (09) 337 1351 Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm
Heart of the City: (09) 379 8000 Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm
