As the country experiences record high homeless rates, those looking after them in the Auckland CBD are helping to help twice as many this year.
It’s 6am on a winter morning and Christopher Tenisio and Patrick Suluape are about to hit the streets.
They’re part of the central Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai – outreach team helping those sleeping rough in the CBD.
“We are going to walk down to Aotea square… we’ve got some notifications about some whānau down there and we are just going to have a look,” Tenisio says.
As the temperature drops in Aotearoa the number of rough sleepers is high in the nation’s largest city. More than 4000 whānau experience homelessness across the country but even in the dark, there is light.
“First and foremost, you know whānaungatanga, got to quickly build trust,” Tenesio says.
“We can’t just come in and expect them to come into our service immediately, (we’re) just being friendly, letting them know who we are, what we can provide and just keeping it open to them.”
Auckland’s City Mission is in regular contact with over 100 rough sleepers in the city, a huge jump from 40 just a year ago.
Armed with a message of hope, the duo move fast to reach our most vulnerable whānau.
“We’ve connected with three whānau this morning, two of them are well known to us except for one of them,” says Patrick Suluape.
“He’s new to us, he’s going to come up to the mission later on today to connect with us and get the support he’s needing and then welll create pathways with the rest of them to see where they want to go.”
It’s confronting work but along that same path, the good Samaritans are paid with kindness from those they help.
A gentleman known as Jason is grateful for their service. “I appreciate it and I am grateful because it’s pretty tough out here when you’ve got no support… and it’s a blessing.”
The blessings also come in the form of a wraparound service offering medical assistance, shelter and food no matter the weather.
So back at the base known as the Home ground the breakfast service is open feeding around 300 people a day.
Front of house staff like Sau Sosaia say it’s a tough time for everyone but that they’re doing their bit to help where they can.
“Every area in New Zealand are all doing their best as they can to cater for feeding our whānau,” Sau says.
“I mean it’s not easy the way it’s going… but I think everyone is doing their best to make everyone feel happy when they come into this sort of place.”
People here are from all walks of life, many just want another chance to start again.
Helping people get off the street and into a warm home is Samara Tohilima. She has also noticed the growing number of Pasifika people coming through their doors.
“It’s harder because the people that we help look and sound like us, so its puts more intensity on top of the mahi that we do,” Samara says.
“I think our work is important to the people because we really get to know them, we get to know them by name, we get to know what their previous lives were, what they are interested in having everyday conversations so people feel valued and important and not forgotten about.”
It’s more than a job for Christopher Tenisio, it’s about making sure that no one is left behind.
“I call it God’s work. I feel like I’m doing my part not just as a Christian but as a Pacific islander giving back,” he says.
“We always talk about giving back, service, that’s why I am in this place. I love meeting new people, offering them any support that I can.”
