[앵커]
New Zealand, where house prices rose last year, is struggling with an increase in homelessness.
An increasing number of residents live on the street or in temporary shelters and worry about the problem of living day to day.
Korean compatriots came out to help those in need.
Reporter Jun-seop Lee reports.
[기자]
People with loads of luggage take their seats on the streets.
It is a Korean volunteer group that distributes lunch boxes that visit the homeless on the street every Sunday at lunch time.
There is a queue of homeless people even before the food is ready to be served.
Kim Joo-pyo, who has been sharing meals for four years, says the number of homeless has increased significantly in recent years.
[김주표 / 자원봉사자, 목사 : 요즘 뉴질랜드 물가가 하루가 다르게 치솟고 있는데 그에 따라서 노숙인들도 조금 조금씩 늘어나는 것 같습니다. 저희가 보통 50명 내외로 이렇게 (점심 식사하러) 오시는데 못 보던 분들도 많이 최근에 계시거든요. 그런 것으로 봐서 좀 늘어나는 추세인 것 같습니다.]
Following COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis, New Zealand recorded the highest inflation rate in 30 years.
As housing sales and rents increase, the situation is so serious that it was chosen as ‘World Real Estate Risk List 1’ among OECD countries last year.
The number of homeless is increasing not only on the streets, but also because people who do not have a stable place to live, such as those who live in someone else’s garage or tent, are classified as homeless.
At the end of 2017, there were around 21 people living in tents, but by the end of June this year, the number had quadrupled to 84.
The number of children living in cars has also risen sharply from 51 at the end of 2017 to 228.
[이익형 / 노숙인 봉사단체 ‘낮은 마음’ 간사 : 이번 팬데믹으로 인해서 주택가격이 굉장히 많이 올랐거든요. 주택가격이 오른 것은 렌트비 하고도 연계가 되고요. // 주거 빈민의 수준이 조금씩 높아지는 그런 경향이 아마 홈리스의 증가를 가져올 수 있다고 생각합니다.]
As the number of homeless people increased, Korean compatriots came forward.
There are more than ten Korean-American groups throughout New Zealand alone that distribute daily necessities to needy neighbors or provide regular breakfasts and lunches.
[써니 파카세키 / 노숙인 : 이런 봉사활동이 매우 중요하다고 생각해요. 여성들과 일상생활에 어려움을 겪는 사람들에게 큰 도움이 되는 것 같아요.]
New Zealand’s real estate market, which was overheated until last year, is expected to be somewhat subdued by the government’s rate hike.
However, since it is not easy to find a stable home for the homeless right now, Korean compatriots plan to continue helping their neighbors in the future.
This is Junseop Lee from YTN World in Auckland, New Zealand.
YTN Lee Jun-seop (khj87@ytn.co.kr)
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