Wairarapa tramps doss down but keep a low profile

REPORTS of a rising number of homeless men across the country have filtered down to Masterton, where there has been evidence "but not sightings" of transient people living in public places.
The Salvation Army has issued a national report calling for "sweeping changes" by the Government and social services to better help a growing number of Kiwi men "living on the fringes of society".
Director of Social Services for the Wairarapa Salvation Army, Peter Bradley, said his agency does still pick up people who need assistance but hasn't noticed an obvious increase in cases.
"There are a few folk out there. We often assist them with food parcels or help them with their budgets, because usually the money is gone," he said.
"We have one fellow who doesn't know how to cope with living in normal society, so we just give him a helping hand."
Mr Bradley said he is often dealing with people who have drug or alcohol addictions, and who would "rather feed that first before paying rent".
Mr Bradley said he receives around six to 10 temporary accommodation requests each year, and he does have places he can put people if they are homeless.
"We do have quite a few enquiries for housing but usually it's families. Masterton generally isn't too bad but it can be more of a problem with single people south of Masterton."
Masterton community constable Mark Brown said he has had some documented cases of people living in public places in the past year, but the closest anyone got to these people was evidence they had left behind.
"There have been signs around. And we do have people that have no fixed abode but if is often unclear whether they are actually homeless or if they just move around.
"It can be that they move between different members of their family."
Constable Brown said it is an offence to be unlawfully found on property, but so far this year he has only viewed where someone looks to have lived rather than observed them in person.
"There was one person living in the ticket collection boxes at Memorial Park. We found a mattress and some clothes earlier this year but I think they realised we'd been there and never came back."
The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union have their offices on the edge of Memorial Park and secretariat Debby Castles said they do occasionally come across what looks to be makeshift beds on and around the park's grandstand.
She said old clothes, presumably taken from a nearby recycled clothing bin, have been found "arranged like a nest" in the grandstand and under a hedge that borders the rugby field.
"Occasionally a player will go under the hedge looking for a ball and find clothes. There is evidence that people have been sleeping there but we haven't ever seen them in person."
She said the people must be up early because they have always gone by the time the caretaker arrives around 6.30am.
"Now and then there are cans of beer up there as well. It is patrolled at night but it's always very dark at the top of the stand so they probably don't notice them up there".
The Salvation Army have presented a comprehensive list of recommendations to the Government, to ensure better treatment of marginalised men, after their reports of growing numbers of homeless people across the country.