K Road Chronicles – looking at NZ’s homelessness from the inside

APR editor — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 23:00:43 +0000

K Road Chronicles video produced by Stuff with NZ On Air.

The K Road Chronicles is a New Zealand webseries that delves into what it is like to be homeless on the streets of inner city Auckland.

Now in its second season, the show is hosted by Six – who knows the experience of homelessness firsthand, having lived on the streets for six years.

Six, an AUT journalism graduate and founder of the K Road Chronicle newspaper for homeless people, joins Karyn in the studio to discuss making the series.

By Jessie Chiang, RNZ News reporter

Living on the fringes
FLASHBACK TO 2017 REPORT: Homeless people and those living on the fringes in central Auckland have their own newspaper for the first time.

K Road Chronicle tells the stories of the Karangahape Road community.

The Chronicle’s editor, Six, said the monthly newspaper was about giving the homeless a voice and breaking down any prejudices the public may have about them.

“It educates the wider audience on who these people are and what they’re stories are and what’s significant to them,” she said.

Six, the editor of the K Road Chronicle, pictured on Karangahape Road. Image: Jessie Chiang/RNZ

“Even though it focuses mainly on K Road and stories from the street, it’s about everybody who uses the street whether they live there or work there.”

So far 1000 copies have been printed and are being given free to those sleeping rough to sell.

Six said just the other day she gave a few copies to someone on the street to sell and it was rewarding to see the difference it made.

“He sat up and he was excited to be giving out these newspapers and I think it gave him a purpose,” she said.

“I caught up with him a few hours later and I said, ‘how’s it going?’ and he said, ‘I made 20 bucks’ and that’s great because he could be sitting there all there and make five or 10 dollars.”

The paper was started with initial funding from the K Road Business Association. Image: Jessie Chiang/RNZ

Rob, who usually asks for money on K Road, has also been selling the Chronicle.

He said it was great to be able to offer people something that represented him as well as putting money in his pocket.

“They give me koha and before they read it, they ask me what it’s all about so I explain it to them,” he said.

“I say it’s all about the community and [it’s] ideas and thoughts.”

The newspaper was started with initial funding from the K Road Business Association.

“This publication really identifies the community and speaks to the community enhancement aspect of what we do,” said manager Michael Richardson. “It really speaks to what happens here at Karangahape Road.

Richardson said he was in talks with other organisations which were keen to donate funds to the newspaper.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Urban media – Asia Pacific Report

K Road Chronicles – looking at NZ’s homelessness from the inside