Auckland City Mission opens 'safe haven' for homeless women

Friday, 13 July 2018

Social services manager at the Auckland City Mission, Helen Robinson, created the shelter to keep homeless women safe.

When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put out a call asking for New Zealanders to help the homeless over the winter, Helen Robinson began to formulate a plan.

Robinson, who is the social services manager at the Auckland City Mission, decided to create a women-only night shelter in the Mission's old detox building on Hobson St.

The villa was used by the mission as a 10-bed detox unit since 1982.

'I've always had a deep commitment to rough sleepers and women and I wanted to be able to create a space where vulnerable women could feel safe,' she said.

The shelter, named Te Whare Manaaki Wāhine, provides women with a bed, showers, hot meals, a place to do laundry as well as social support.

* Female and homeless: fending off the drunks

A two bedroom room on the first floor of the villa.

* Pregnant woman among homeless on cold streets

The villa has 10 beds inside and a 'first in, first served' policy.

The women eat dinner together in the dining room each night to create a more 'family atmosphere'.

'We open at 4pm every day, we have a few women who come in and just want to have a shower and leave so around 8pm we close the doors and do an intake assessment of those who are staying,' Robinson said.

The shelter itself is run entirely by female staff as well as female security guards. Robinson said this was to help the women feel more safe.

'The Quiet Room' is one of two lounges where the women can hang out and relax.

'We're dealing with some very vulnerable women - most have experienced some kind of violence or trauma in their life so we want to make them feel as comfortable as possible.'

Senior social worker Moana Te Wao spends two days of her working week in the shelter and said it was a completely different environment to working in the main part of the Mission.

The women at the shelter are allowed to cook their own dinner and breakfast under the supervision of staff.

'We get to create a relationship with these women and engage with them more - I love it down here, I get to listen to their stories and help them access the services they need.'

Te Wao said each evening the staff cook dinner, with the help of some of those staying, and they all sit down to eat together.

'One woman told us it felt like eating dinner with a family,' Te Wao said.

During the stay Te Wao helps to refer the women on to different services for future help.

'A lot of the women we see have a combination of addiction problems as well as physical and mental health issues so it's a good chance for us to help them get the services they need.'

32-year-old Moana, who has been living on the streets for the last three years, and is also a client of the City Mission, said the women's shelter was a great idea as she has experienced first-hand what it is like to sleep outside during winter.

'Last year I was so cold all winter, even though I had a good sleeping bag. Sleeping outside in all kinds of weather is hard on the body and soul.'

'None of these women want to be homeless,' Robinson said, 'so we want to unpick what's going on for each individual and get them a home.'

Staff working at the shelter work long hours with their day beginning at 4pm and finishing the next morning at nine.

'They don't sleep during that time because they need to stay alert in case anything happens,' Robinson said.

One of the main reasons Robinson began the shelter was the risk women face when they are sleeping on the streets.

'The prevalence of violence is a big problem for women and while most violence is done by family members, women who are rough sleeping are more vulnerable to being attacked by strangers.'

The villa will continue to provide a safe haven for women in need for the next three months - when the building will be demolished to make way for the new detox facilities.

At this stage Robinson said it's too early to know whether the service will continue in a new space.

'It's still very early days but I do know if there is a need for a night shelter like this we will find a way.'

The first week was slow with only around five to seven of the beds being full, but for the last three nights all 10 have been filled. Robinson believes this will continue throughout the rest of winter.

The Auckland City Street Count, which counts the number of rough sleepers within 3km of the Sky Tower, recorded 45 women sleeping on the street in 2016 – up from 31 in 2014.

The City Mission expects that, in reality, the numbers of women sleeping rough this winter are even higher.