August 17, 2018
Rough sleeping kaumātua on the rise
Rough sleeping kaumātua on the rise
The Salvation Army wants action on providing housing for the elderly who are increasingly slipping into homelessness.
The head of its social policy research unit, Alan Johnson, says once they stop working elderly people can struggle to pay the rent, and may find themselves in unsuitable living situations or even sleeping in their cars.
While many kaumātua live with extended family, relationships do break down and people are left isolated.
He sees growing numbers of people in their 40s and 50s and even older sleeping rough.
"People slip into this rough sleeping in the streets homelessness in their middle age and their lives are much shorter and far less comfortable than they should be and that's the challenge we have, to make sure those people don't slip into that situation in the first place," Mr Johnson says.
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