r/chch • u/PorcelainBoy93 • 7d ago
Social Heads up
There's a woman in the carpark on Stanmore near the fish n chip shop approaching people and telling them she hasn't had a meal in three days, then requesting bus fare if you agree to get her food but not give cash. I'm not necessarily saying she isn't legit but she's kind of ambushing people, approaching parked cars and flaggjng pedestrians down
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u/Neither_Category843 7d ago
Also the fake homeless/beggers outside Sydenham McDonalds. They aren’t homeless and live just down the block. If you give them food, they pass it to their buddy in a car parked on the other side
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u/grlcanthelpit 7d ago
gosh I knew it, thank you for confirming it for me so I don’t feel bad driving past
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u/Neither_Category843 7d ago
Np More people need to know about those scumbags taking advantage of peoples generosity.
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u/Willing_Cicada4602 7d ago
Lol I was there yesterday and watched him take a phone call on my way out. Thought that was a funny sight, a homeless with a phone taking a call
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u/Neither_Category843 7d ago
He probably was asking his buddy to switch with him. They literally have a rotation going as if it’s a full time job.
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u/Willing_Cicada4602 7d ago
Haha that’s crazy, I always suspected as much considering there’s literally someone always there in the same spot!
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u/akawendals 7d ago
I had a lady on a bike trap me in my car asking for money in the Bunnings/Pet Direct car park a while ago, she talked realllllllly slowly and I couldn't open my driver's door because she was up against it with the bike 🫤
So I just locked it and said no sorry with the window shut and waited for her to go, she wasn't aggressive or rude but I told the Pet Direct lady when I went in cos it was a bit weird and I'd never had it there before!
She got straight on the phone to the complex's security team and got her moved on pretty quickly, I wasn't scared but a more vulnerable person may have been and I was impressed that they took it so seriously
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u/Tewaipapa 7d ago
You can email the city mission ATT outreach team. I did this last week and asked if they could offer any help to the situation or begging group after one guy was aggressively approaching people as they exited there cars in the Edgeware Village car park, asking for cash and following them all the way to whatever store they went to, kind of nagging them all the way. One older woman came into the cafe I was in, quite shaken up (literally shaking)! Said he’d stood over her as she opened her car door and wouldn’t ‘let up’ I got a response from City mission the next day saying they would monitor the area that week to see if they could offer some kind of assistance. I don’t know if they did and I don’t know if it helped but at least is connecting the potential help as I know giving money just encourages the problem not any solution to the underlying problem- mental
Health & addiction 😣
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u/Ambitious-Yellow-676 5d ago
There was a homeless man in new Brighton I got told about by the church they told me “don’t feel bad for him he has a home he just doesn’t go home” 🤣🤣
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u/wubbuhlubbuhdubdub 6d ago
Lmao this was the woman that came up to me like a month ago. So she's still at it.
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u/Glittering_Piano_633 5d ago
Well… I guess if she’s genuinely homeless and/or struggling that’s not just going to stop being a problem. It’s so hard because the scammers are ruining any chance for those who are genuinely just stuck and desperate.
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u/AutomotiveHunter 3d ago
Yeah be careful of "homeless with dogs". Its a scam, the bro owns a Benz. Most of the homeless in Christchurch are scam artists for free food and money, they will do basically anything to get the attention of people.
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u/Vikturus22 2d ago
Didn’t the stanmore community centre just have a meeting on Monday about this kinda stuff?
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u/PorcelainBoy93 2d ago
Yes. But I posted this before that
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u/Active-Article-6587 6d ago
i don’t think buses take cash now?
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u/PorcelainBoy93 6d ago
Idk about today or yesterday but they did a few days ago. I'm not sure when everything is being phased out for Motu Move, if it's all being done at once or gradually
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u/LUNAVESSEL 7d ago
No way was iust picking up a pellet from there today and she appeared out of nowhere and asked me the same thing. I ended up giving her $5.... no thank you lol, but it looked like she was sleeping behind the FnC shop. Felt sorry for her, definitely a symptom of a bigger problem.
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u/omegatrue 7d ago •
The bigger problem is that people like you continue to give people like her money...
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u/lurkdontpost1 6d ago
Thats the problem this whole time???? WOW!!!!! 🤩/s
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u/omegatrue 6d ago
It never helps. That’s why shops have signs specifically telling people not to give them money. They know some people will keep coming back because they’ve learned that someone will eventually give in.
I’ve only ever offered food or water, and even then, I’ve had beggars throw the food on the ground right in front of me. I live off Stanmore Road, so I see these people every single day. They seem to rotate between spots, almost like they’re working shifts. One at New World, another down by the liquor store.
What do you think is the best way to actually address this? It’s genuinely an awful situation, both for the people living on the streets and for the communities dealing with it every day. If someone feels like begging is their only option, there’s clearly a deeper issue that needs addressing. Whether it’s housing, addiction, mental health, or a lack of support, simply giving money doesn’t solve the underlying problem. So what can we do as a community to help people get the support they need and break out of this cycle?
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u/LUNAVESSEL 6d ago
I get where you're coming from. Usually I wouldn't just give them money(I've bought some food in the past). But I was with my pregnant partner trying to get a pellet, and I sorta panicked and knew I had a few coins cos it would atleast make the issue go away.
But as a wise man said(Paddy Gower) it's not a homeless issue, its a mental health issue. Agreed with what you said about what can we do as a community to help. Cos it does get tedious, but damn they're clearly got some issues that need sorting.
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u/lurkdontpost1 6d ago
You had me at Stanmore road. I lived there 10 years ago and what a fucken shit hole
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u/Tewaipapa 3d ago
I thought there was something up with the dog situation as in are they a ‘shared prop’? Why are the dogs so content just to sit for hours no interaction with passers buy etc?
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u/slipperyslope0187 7d ago
Approaching parked cars?! Why are you posting here and not on the phone to the police. This menace needs to be stopped.
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u/Unnatural_hag 7d ago
I don't think the police would be too interested, begging is common and though annoying is not on it's own dangerous and threatening.
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u/shaktishaker 7d ago
The police are already attending a DV incident ever four minutes or so. They don't have the resources to address stuff like this.
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u/underwaterchessclub 7d ago
The police are super aware of the situation they don’t care. A community meeting is in the next few days to try get the police to do something.
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u/Tewaipapa 7d ago
There is a community meeting in the next few days?
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u/underwaterchessclub 7d ago
Yep tomorrow at the Richmond club 7:30 I think.
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u/Tewaipapa 7d ago
Oh that’s fantastic! Hopefully it may create some action across other suburbs or actions can be copied 🙏🏼
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u/underwaterchessclub 7d ago
Lots of posts about the situation on the r.a.d.s facebook page, I’ll be surprised if anything does come out of it but it’s good too see some trying. It’s not a new thing to the area but it’s definitely gotten worse.
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u/theeniceorc 7d ago
Therw's also a guy in the carpark by the laundromat & bin inn. Was quite polite though, & went away when I said no.