Auckland mayor Len Brown to sleep rough on the streets

Auckland mayor Len Brown will be given a piece of cardboard and shown a cold concrete slab at AUT University’s Hikawai Plaza next month.

The mayor will have a taste of the street life when he spends the night homeless in July, for charity organisation Lifewise’s Big Sleepout on July 7.

The organisation, which tackles Auckland’s social issues, is encouraging business and community leaders to sleep rough for one night in mid-winter.

The funds raised through sponsorship will help house the city’s homeless people in Auckland, contributing to Lifewise’s goal of ending homelessness by 2020.

Participants will be given a piece of cardboard and shown their cold concrete slab at AUT University’s Hikawai Plaza, on July 7.

Leaders volunteering to sleep rough so far include Mayor Len Brown, former mayor Dick Hubbard, councillor Cathy Casey and TV personality and former All Black Marc Ellis. The Big Sleepout starts at 6.30pm and runs through to 7.30am the following day.

Lifewise is encouraging participants to try and raise a minimum of $1000 each through sponsorship on their website. More than 60 people were involved last year.

Lesley Mynett-Johnson, Lifewise’s development manager said there is no accurate number of the homeless in Auckland, but there are approximately 100 rough sleepers a night within a 3km radius of the Skytower.

“The annual street count is quite a flawed process as people avoid being counted, so typically these sorts of studies are a gross underestimation of the true figure,” she said.

Dick Hubbard said the issue of homelessness is not solved by just talking about it, but by specific actions such as the Sleepout, to experience what it is like to be homeless.

In addition, the council also has a homeless action plan with an aim to expand the services available to the homeless, such as boarding houses and night shelter.