Auckland's Karangahape Road. Photo: 123RF
People wearing pink hoodies will soon lend a helping hand to those sleeping rough on Auckland's Karangahape Road.
An organisation trying to prevent youth homelessness, Kick Back Make Change, was training a small group of volunteers it called The Pink Hoodz.
Kick Back co-founder and manager Aaron Hendry said The Pink Hoodz would walk up and down the street, giving out food and connecting those who need it with emergency housing and other support services.
He said the community was taking matters into their own hands to address the recent spike in homelessness in the city after feeling failed by the government.
"The Pink Hoodz is about us as a community recognising no one is coming to save us.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for, we can come together, get organised, and start responding to this rise that is so evident on our streets and do what we can to serve and care for this community."
He said dozens of people expressed interest in joining the Pink Hoodz at a hui held last month.
Since opening their service The Front Door on Karangahpae Road in July 2024, Hendry said children - the youngest being nine - had come to them needing food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.
He said they were currently monitoring over 130 youths across the city.
"Kids as young as nine or 11-years-old are sleeping rough and in really dangerous situations.
"We're concerned about their safety, physical health, and in some cases their lives with mental health being a really big issue."
He said government decisions were "increasing poverty and inequality in society".
"No government has done enough to curb this crisis but now it's esculating.
"Recent policy announcements: no cause evictions, mandating Kāinga Ora to be tougher in their evictions process, and changes to emergency housing and welfare reforms are leading to more people being on the street."
He said The Pink Hoodz would first launch on Karangahape Road with plans to expand across the city when possible.
Auckland Central MP and Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick, who was involved in the project from its inception, said the community recognised a clear need, particularly heading into the colder months.
"Our community is confronted with the consequences of political decisions and we have to grapple with it and that's why The Pink Hoodz have come about.
"Unfortunately we don't have government resources to do this because the government has decided not to help, in fact they're making it worse. But we are going to do absolutely everything we can to support the people who turn up in our neighbourhood."
She said Housing Minister Tama Potaka received a briefing from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in December that visible homelessness was increasing.
"A month later, in January of this year, the Prime Minister stood up knowing full well their decisions had made homelessness worse and told the country to celebrate them marking a 75 percent reduction in people in emergency housing, all the while more people were on the streets.
"This government has shown its disdain for people experiencing hardship and is making intentional decisions that it knows will increase that hardship."
A spokesperson for Housing Minister Tama Potaka's office defended celebrating emergency housing reductions.
"We continue to improve our information and know the vast majority of people - about 85 percent - leaving emergency housing are going into better homes.
"Since last April when we introduced the Priority One category, prioritising whānau with tamariki who have been in emergency housing for 12 weeks or more, we have supported more than 2000 children and their whānau into better homes.
"Emergency housing remains available as a temporary last resort for people in genuine need and there is a whole range of other housing support services available.
"The previous administration allowed emergency housing numbers to balloon out of control and they only knew where about 50 percent were going, which simply wasn't good enough."
On social media, Kick Back shared that Potaka recently visited them where he heard from young people experiencing homelessness.
Swarbrick hoped The Pink Hoodz initiative would provide a model organisations across the country could use.
Those interested in volunteering were encouraged to contact the Kick Back team on Instagram or Facebook.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
