This article was first published on RNZ.
A youth advocate says the turnout at a hīkoi to highlight youth homelessness in Auckland CBD clearly shows the pain and trauma young people are experiencing.
Co-founder and manager of youth development organisation Kick Back, Aaron Hendry, said about 100 people marched on the footpath from Karangahape Road to downtown Auckland after noon Saturday.
He said the hīkoi was organised by youth who had or still experienced homelessness.
“Many young people in our community have been denied emergency housing, are couch surfing, living in hostels and in unsafe living environments, because this government and successive governments have not invested in a clear strategy to end youth homelessness.
“This is them standing up and saying, ‘We have a voice, we are going to use it’.”
Kick Back was actively monitoring 140 young people in the city, who do not have stable housing - some as young as 11 years old.
Hendry said marching on the footpath instead of the road was a way of recognising where many had slept rough.
“Young people denied shelter because of government decisions around emergency housing had to sleep on Karangahape Road or Queen Street.
“They are taking the street back and saying, ‘This is where you left us, this is not a place for any child or young person to live’.”
He said Labour MPs Shanan Halbert and Kieran McAnulty, and Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March participated in the march.
Auckland councillor and mayoral candidate Kerrin Leoni also attended.
“Central government have taken quite a lot of money away from homeless initiatives and it is a real concern for our city,” Leoni said.
She said, if elected mayor, she would work with community housing and poverty action groups to find ways Auckland Council could help.
By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ.
