Derelict house shelters street kids — temporarily

Press, 24 May 1985, Page 8

Derelict house shelters street kids — temporarily

Most of Christchurch’s street kids live together for mutual support in an innercity house which will soon be demolished. They talk to JOHN HARFORD about their plight as they prepare to move on.

A derelict, two-storey house in central Christchurch provides a nightly shelter for most of the city’s street kids.

Slumped in old chairs, huddled into a corner, or on one of the few mattresses on the floor is where the 20 or so street kids get their

sleep. Most blankets are shared one between two persons.

Although there is still electricity to the house, there is no stove or refrigerator. Many of the windows have gone. Even this meagre shelter,

which has become their home, will not be theirs for long. The building is due for demolition in a few weeks.

To help fight off the cold at night, some parts of the semi-demolished house are pulled down and burnt in the fireplace. In spite of its shortcomings, all the street kids agree that it is better than sleeping in Cathedral Square. The landlord is held

in high regard for allowing them to stay there until it is finally demolished.

Life is a little more comfortable recently. Murray, a reformed alcoholic, has moved in with the street kids, bringing his television, radio, and a heater. He was evicted from his flat because, the kids say, his landlady objected to the number of street kids who came to his place. There is never enough food.

The youngest person to stay at the house is 13, the oldest is 17. Four of them have jobs through the S.T.E.P.S. programme and earn $l5 a week each, pro-

viding about half of the total income for the group.

Social Welfare benefits and “scoring” make up the rest of the $l3O a week income for the group. Contrary to popular belief, most of the money gained from hassling other people goes to feed them and not on video games. The constant shortage of food leads to stealing. Both money and food are taken when the need demands.

“It ain’t crime, it’s survival,” was one street kid’s justification for stealing. They are quick to point out that nothing is stolen unless they deem it necessary .

Ja, one of the younger street kids in the house, proudly recalls the restraint shown during one shoplifting episode. “The guy went out the back. We could have taken the whole shop but we didn’t. We only took what we needed.” The need for food is also

used to justify “scoring” money from other people, trying to “scrounge” enough money to buy 60c worth of chips. Occasionally the money is used to play video games but the kids are careful about what games they play. A game that lasts a long time is usually chosen, allowing five people to play instead of just one — economy street kids-style. The street kids get more help from individuals and church groups than official welfare agencies. About 12 of the kids went to one agency and asked for food because they had not had a meal for several days. After extensive questioning they were told that meals would be provided for five. No-one took up the offer because they could not decide which of them needed the food more than the others.

“They treat us like dirt,” said Cabbage. “It’s all right for them. They have a sweet house and a warm bed to go back to. We’ve got the floor.” The Christchurch City Council Mayor’s Welfare Fund did provide some blankets for them.

A group of Christians took them all out for a good meal one evening “and they didn’t even thrash the Bible.” Others have occasionally dropped in with food for the kids.

Most of the people in the house have one of two stories to tell from their backgrounds. They either moved south from the North Island looking for work, reached Christchurch and ran out of money; or have left home, tired of the constant arguments, beatings, and feeling of being left out.

Those with families in Christchurch occasionally return home for food or to stay a few weeks. “Any time I go home it’s all right for two weeks and then my parents start putting me down. There are arguments, hidings, and I feel sort of left out. I’m the one in the middle. My big sister’s got a mouth like an aeroplane,” said Ja. Raku was on his way to Invercargill . looking for work but ran out of money when he reached Christchurch. Because he had moved but had no proof of identity when he tried to claim the dole from Christchurch, Social Welfare cut his benefit.

Although the street kids might be seen as misfits in the social system, they are creating their own system. Meetings are held regularly to discuss their plight, make plans, organise themselves, and help one another. One meeting lasted two hours while they discussed ways to help one girl with serious problems.

Anyone found roaming the streets with nowhere to go is brought back to the house and made welcome.

Junior gang supporters of both the Mongrel Mob and Black Power are able to live alongside one another without problems.

“There are no leaders here. We are just all equal,” says Raku.

While some laws are broken for “survival,” others are strictly upheld. One boy returned from roaming the streets until 5 a.m. with a car he had “borrowed.” He was sent back home later that day. Others are taken by their friends to school.

Because of the meetings and help from their friends, the glue-sniffers have stopped sniffing. The group’s meetings have also helped them face the future — what they are going to do when the house is demolished.

They would like to move into a house which had, until recently, been used as a house for female street. kids. It had been run by the Christchurch City Mission and the Catholic Social Services but owned by the Social Welfare Department. An approach has been made to the department but they are still waiting for an answer.

Letters have been drafted to the Minister of Social Welfare, Mrs Hercus, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Tapsell, and the member of Parliament for Christchurch Central, Mr Palmer, asking if Government funding could be provided for a house for street kids in Christchurch.

“We don’t know if they will take much notice. We are under 18 and can’t vote.”

They see the Christchurch Youth Centre, which will open in August, as a good idea but not something that will meet their basic need — somewhere to sleep. The centre will be more suited to “townies,” kids who hang about town all day but go home at night. It will be a place for entertainment but little else.

The house that has provided shelter for them during the last few months will continue to provide for them even when it is demolished. The owner has offered them the job of cleaning bricks, giving them the chance to earn some money. They hope to get enough money together to buy a refrigerator for wherever they go next.

“Perhaps we can keep moving from one house to another, clean the bricks when they are demolished, until we have enough money to move into a flat,” quips Cabbage.