Opinion: What will banning streeties achieve?

Out of sight, out of mind? Photo/file

I couldn't believe it when I heard there was an idea put to the Tauranga City Council of banning beggars and homeless people from the CBD.

No one likes being harassed for money while out shopping, or seeing some poor soul huddled in the corner of a shop wrapped in a blanket.

But banning these people from the CBD isn't going to stop any of that.

Instead of beggars approaching you on a street full of other shoppers, they might start coming up to you on the streets outside your home.

For the rough sleepers, being surrounded by CCTV cameras and street lighting provides a modicum of security, and it's close to amenities like toilets and food providers.

Take that away from them and where do they go? To a neighbourhood playground, perhaps, without any toilet facilities. Or to a shop front further out of the city away from services that can help them.

A blanket ban on "undesirables" doesn't fix the problem. It just relocates it into suburbia.

For a CBD that is already struggling, having these social issues visible on its doorstep is another blow driving customers away.

But we have to face reality - there is only one way to get homeless people off the streets altogether. Shelter.

Until there is a solution for that, Tauranga's homeless problem isn't going to go away anytime soon.

We have the fantastic Tauranga Moana Night Shelter doing what it can to help streeties get back on their feet. But remember, the shelter has beds for 20 men, and these are usually full.

At last count, there were about 70 people regularly sleeping on the streets.

These people need help. Their lives are hard enough already without being persecuted for trying to find a safe place to sleep.

Out of sight may be out of mind, but it's not fixing the problem.