'Suddenly finding yourself without a home can happen to all of us'

A rough sleeper in a car on Hamer Street. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The NZ Herald is today raising awareness of the struggles of thousands of homeless Kiwis.

A recent University of Otago analysis of the 2013 census revealed one in 100 New Zealanders, roughly 42,000 people, are without a home. This includes Kiwis on the streets, as well as those who sleep in cars, garages and on someone else's sofa.

When users click on the NZ Herald desktop homepage "home" button today, instead of returning home, a video will pop up with a story of someone who found themselves homeless.

There are several videos to watch. They challenge the idea that homelessness wholly means living on the street, with people who found themselves homeless in a variety of ways telling their stories.

Users who watch the video will be able to sign up or donate to the Salvation Army's 14 Hour Homeless events.

The events, from October 5 to 7, will see hundreds of Kiwis sleep in a car, on a couch or on cardboard to raise money for the homeless.

NZME is running its campaign today in partnership with advertising agency TBWA.

TBWA executive creative director Christy Peacock said they wanted to play with the preconceived notions of what it is to be homeless in New Zealand.

"Suddenly finding yourself without a home can happen to all of us, at any time...

"By displacing people from their daily routine and making them struggle to get 'Home' we wanted to highlight just how easy it is to find yourself in a similar situation, unexpectedly."