Young men sleeping rough and young women prostituting themselves for alcohol are just two of the social problems being handled by community trusts working in the Wanganui community.
They were issues highlighted by the Whanganui Living Without Violence Trust and the Waiora Christian Community Trust at a meeting of the Wanganui District Council's operations and reporting committee this week.
Representatives of the two groups spoke to the committee when they presented a progress report on their work since they were awarded funding at the start of the 2013-14 year. The Waiora Trust received $20,000 and the Living Without Violence Trust $30,000 from that funding pool.
Karen Morenhout, from the Waiora Trust, told councillors that emergency housing for younger people was desperately needed. "We've been told about eight to 10 young men are sleeping rough each night in the old UCOL campus and there's a empty house in Heads Rd that has been used by both men and women desperate for shelter."
Kylie Winiata, manager of the Living Without Violence Trust, said her group delivered violence and anger management services to the city and that included working with secondary school students.