Initially started as a plastic table outside Tauranga City Library, Under the Stars has since grown; they provide healthy home cooked meals to 100+ guests every week including dinner on Saturday nights and lunch on Thursdays. As well as a feed, they also provide hot showers, clean towels and toiletries. 

Founder Liz Kite says “Under the Stars is a charitable trust run by a collection of volunteers, and is funded entirely by donations from the public. We have strong connections with our people. We’re trusted because we are compassionate and don’t judge. We help our people achieve their goals – be it breaking free from the disease of addiction, getting a job, or simply finding a guitar for them to play music again. It is the small gestures like providing art supplies that make our people trust us.”

On a personal note, having no fixed abode is something I experienced in my early 20s. Thankfully, I had a big sister who was living in a council house with her two daughters that I could move in with. After about a month with my sister's whānau  I was working again, after three months I'd moved in with a girlfriend (and her son) from work. I was lucky -  if I didn’t have somewhere to go I would have been stuck in a relationship and job where I was desperately unhappy.

I have family members who’ve also experienced this - my youngest sibling, after being made redundant, ended up couch surfing at friends' until they could find another job. My stepfather found himself sleeping rough due to his drinking problem. After getting help from his mum who paid for rehab, he moved in with her before getting back on his feet again. 

In each of these cases my whānau have been fortunate that there has been some form of safety net from friends and whānau to help out, but not everyone has that. 

There are multiple reasons why someone ends up with nowhere to live. There are also additional challenges to not having a fixed abode, some (kinda important) things you can’t do if you don’t have an address:

• Open a bank account (and therefore, get paid work that’s not cash in hand)
• Apply for benefits including financial support, support with mental health, rehabilitation, etc
• Register with a doctor (so you can access drugs and help with any underlying health conditions such as diabetes, mental health, etc)
• Register to vote

Kāinga Tupu - part of Tauranga City Council working towards a vision that homelessness in the western Bay of Plenty is prevented where possible, or is rare, brief and non-recurring. During the National Census last March they took the opportunity to conduct a Point in Time Count of people living without shelter or targeted temporary accommodation. In doing so, they also acknowledge that the data collected is not a comprehensive review of homelessness within the region (after all - if you were homeless during the census - it’s unlikely you completed a census form). 

The data they collected can be viewed here, they identified 308 people as living without shelter or in targeted temporary accommodation, of this number:

51% were male and 47% were female.

For men - the majority were between 30 - 50, for women, the majority were in their 30s.

When asked ‘what happened?’ the most common reasons for being in their situation were: 

• Not enough income
• Conflict with spouse/partner 
• Physical health issues
• Mental health issues 
• Being released from prison and nowhere to go

One of the most important values for Under the Stars and their volunteers is that they help people without judgment or agenda. Regardless of circumstance, they create a safe space where all are treated with dignity and respect. They promote kindness and compassion and share a story of a young woman who had recently given birth was released from hospital on Saturday and attended one of their meals. She had nowhere to go afterwards. WINZ was closed, so Under the Stars put her in a motel until WINZ opened. 

If you would also like to donate to Under the Stars, please go to their Give a Little page or visit their website and see how you can support their mahi.