March 04, 2015
Iwi should advocate for homeless
The New Zealand Coalition to End Homelessness wants to see iwi playing a role in tackling Maori homelessness.
Maori caucus member Shiloh Groot says Maori are overrepresented among the ranks of those without a home.
She says iwi may not be able to provide a physical home, but they can provide a whare for people’s wairua.
That’s why iwi should pressure government to ensure resources are going on to the problem, whether though central government initiatives or the community provider sector.
Dr Groot says for many Maori homelessness started with the taking of land and the loss of ahi kaa.
"For many homeless Maori, at some stage in their lives they lost something important to thhem and it's a matter of identifyoing whhat that is in all its diversity, and one of the biggest problems we can see is that absolute disconnection from whanau. A lot are victims of abuse or survivors of abuse and had to leave home or fled home or were removed from home and they don't know how to reconnect back. It's something that iwi and all of us as members of iwi, we need to be reconnecting with them," she says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DR SHILOH GROOT CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjY4NTY=
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