Homelessness agencies in Wellington report the situation is not letting up, with workers encountering "people we've never seen before" on the streets.
The reports paint a picture of New Zealand's housing and social support crisis reaching new depths in the capital, with traditional support networks overwhelmed.
RNZ reports that outreach teams encountered 30-40 individuals they had never seen before in the last two quarters of 2025. Approximately 160 people were sleeping rough in Wellington within a three-month period.
Mate, when aid workers start seeing entirely new populations of homeless people, it suggests the crisis is spreading beyond the usual vulnerable groups into middle-class territory. These aren't the familiar faces of chronic homelessness - these are people newly pushed onto the streets.
Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge put it bluntly: "There's no question in my mind that the need we are seeing in our community, and the desperation of people's circumstances is greater than we've ever seen before."
The Downtown Community Ministry's chief executive expressed similar alarm: "I feel that whilst the numbers of people rough sleeping is high and it's terrible, it's actually quite disheartening as well to see new faces coming through the doors asking for services."
Who are these new homeless people? According to agencies, some are economic migrants - homeless individuals traveling from Auckland, Upper Hutt, and Porirua seeking better opportunities. Others are people who've lost housing due to the broader economic downturn.
Systemic challenges drive the crisis: housing loss, incarceration cycles, drug addiction, and insufficient mental health support. People cycle between homelessness and jail because there's no sustained housing or treatment available.
The City Mission's community hub served 70,000 visitors annually since opening - a staggering number for a city of Wellington's size.
This crisis reflects broader failures in New Zealand's housing policy and social safety net. When unemployment hits 5.4%, retailers cut hundreds of jobs, and the cost of living remains elevated, more people fall through the cracks.
The "new faces" on Wellington's streets are evidence that New Zealand's economic pain is spreading deeper into the population than official statistics suggest.
