October 13, 2025 • 54 mins
This week on Baskets of Knowledge, we sit down with Kiyara Glasgow, a 19-year-old student whose journey will shift how you see homelessness forever.
From sleeping in cars and park benches at 13, to earning a scholarship and studying at AUT, Kiyara’s story is a powerful reminder that our circumstances don’t define uz our choices do.
She opens up about:
Life as a homeless teenager in Aotearoa
How education became her lifeline
The power of mentorship and human kindness
Why we all need to start asking, “Are you okay?”
A conversation that will stay with you long after you’ve listened.
Tune in now on Spotify or YouTube — and don’t forget to follow Baskets of Knowledge for more stories that move, challenge, and inspire.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hey everybody, it's Prajesh herein Tana here.
Welcome to our podcast, Passes of knowledge chats with a
difference. In our podcast, we invite guests
from around the country and around the world to talk about
how they got to where they at the moment.
It's about a journey, it's aboutan experience, it's about their
life. Dear Coat everybody, welcome to
(00:27):
another episode of Baskets of knowledge.
Today it's just me. Tony can't join us because he's
at a Mohammorai. So as always, like to share what
I put into my basket of knowledge since our last
episode. And the biggest learning that
I've had since the last episode was this afternoon.
I ran a coaching session and a client came in with, with
(00:50):
something that just seemed as a superficial comment, you know,
superficial thing to to talk about.
And very quickly that became very, very, very deep.
Because what I realized is that a lot of us have have a
superficial thing that we like to think about, but it's the
layers between and underneath that actually define who we are.
So I guess my learning is that when we think when we're talking
(01:12):
a conversation with somebody andwe really want to know about
them, we should look at what's beyond the words that they're
saying. So yeah, that's my my learning
what is beyond the words that they're saying.
But hey, it's not about me. That's not about me today, As
you all know, we scour the country and the world to find
people that we think are interesting to have on a
podcast. We think everyone is interesting
because everyone's got a story to tell.
(01:34):
Today's guest is someone that I only came across 3 weeks ago, 3
weeks ago. And when I So basically I'll
tell you the story. So I am a mentor in the NFS
Foundation, which is an organization which helps
Rungatahi in New Zealand do somereally cool things.
And the story was shared in the mentor check room.
And I had a look and I was like,wow, what an amazing story.
(01:54):
And as I read the story, I felt emotional.
I felt emotive, I felt inspired.Every single emotion under the
sun came through. And it will be a travesty of
justice to the world if we don'tget to share the story with this
inspirational young person, which is why we've been invited
this inspiring young wahine on our podcast.
(02:14):
Welcome to Passes of knowledge, Chiara.
Everyone, my name is Kiara and Iam a 19 year old first year
student at AUT and I am currently studying bachelor
Communications. I just want to say thank you so
much for having me on this podcast and apologies if you
(02:35):
hear a dog in the background. It is the neighbour's dog.
Hey, hey, we invite dogs into this podcast as anybody.
It's your world, which is great.Kiara, thank you for telling us
who you are and what you're doing at the moment.
And if we rewind it a little bit, actually a fun fact, before
we jumped on the podcast, I asked Kiara where her accent
(02:55):
comes from. Kiara, do you know tell guess
where the accent comes from? So basically some of my family
is from Italy, but I have familyall over the world, a very
diverse background. They came from Milan down to
Christchurch and my great, great, not my great great,
sorry, my great grandmother, shelocated the whole family.
(03:19):
She had my grandfather and 13 other children, so massive
family. But yeah, we located to New
Zealand and then slowly moved upto the North Island and to
Auckland eventually. And here I am, yeah.
Yeah, you are today. But this, you've given us a very
(03:41):
brief overview, but your life story has not been as simple as
that be. And you know, if we, if we if we
take you back and talk about today, you're in your
university, you're doing your first year, maybe if we go five
years ago, was this even on yourhorizon?
No, it wasn't. So my life story is a very
(04:03):
complex story. I became independent at 13, but
before that point I was very emotionally independent and did
a lot of things for myself even while living with adults.
In my case, my background, it was kind of you have to grow up
fast and learn quickly, otherwise you'll be left behind.
(04:27):
And while no child should have to deal with that, it was the
reality for me. So by 13 years old, I was
overseas and I woke up one day and I looked around at my
environment and I realized this isn't good for me.
This is not what I need in my life and I should leave, you
(04:47):
know, I'm basically independent already and I know I can do it.
And so I booked the ticket and Icame back to New Zealand.
I traveled down to my hometown in Tiaroha in the Waikato and
began to stay with family. But unfortunately due to
(05:08):
circumstances such as alcoholismand just complex family
dynamics, it did not work out and after a while I was not safe
to stay there. So by 13 I was often homeless.
I would stay sometimes at friends places or go and shower
(05:30):
there before school if I was allowed to, but I often found
myself sleeping at the park benches because there was
nowhere else to go and I didn't feel safe going home.
So that is how my life, my teenage life started out.
(05:52):
It was very rough, especially going to school during that
time. It was the lowest tier on my
thought list of what was important because I was in such
a survival mode that I didn't really consider year 9 as, you
know, what I needed at the moment.
You know, it was important to meand I wanted to go to school.
(06:15):
But the problem is with people who are homeless is they cannot
prioritize things like educationbecause they need to prioritize
surviving first. So Year 9, by that point, I
never thought I would make it touniversity.
You know, it got so bad to a point where I thought that my
(06:36):
life would be on the street forever.
Like I did not see a way forward, I did not see a path,
which is very scary to consider a young wahine.
It is difficult to already navigate your way through life
(06:57):
and especially when you feel like everything is against you,
it yeah, it is very difficult. And then give a shame that there
because I think this gives good context as where you come from.
Yeah. And I want I want to touch on
touch on something that you saidthat, you know, school was not
(07:18):
number one in your priority. Survival was.
So what did it feel like you when you, you you had to go to
school, but actually you didn't want to be there because, you
know, survival, finding food wasprobably what is it like for you
And the because you're seeing your peers in in the class
living, living a life that was very different to you.
(07:40):
It was very difficult because the nights that I did not go
home, I remember I would be at school and I would be sitting in
class just focusing on my work as much as possible.
Or sometimes this was during COVID time as well, when that
was still occurring, I would be on Zoom and I just had no
(08:02):
motivation because I didn't feellike I could kind of relate to
my peers. And so as I went into year 10, I
passed year 9, but I did really poorly.
Most of my classes, I only got an A and barely scraped the
barrel because of what was happening at the time at home.
(08:25):
So I got to year 10, and I remember going to school and
after class I would go into the bathroom and get changed into
normal clothes. And I would leave.
And all these parents would be picking the kids up.
And it would be, you know, they had such a good connection.
And I would watch that and I would think, wow, if only I had
(08:48):
that, then, you know, maybe it would be easier for me.
Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about where would I go at the
end of the day. But that was not the reality for
me. It distracted me heavily from
school. And by the time year 10
finished, I was absolutely devastated.
(09:09):
And this was my turning point. I got back my final results on a
sheet of how I had done overall for the year.
And I just remember thinking to myself, you can do so much
better than this. You know, this is not the life
you want to live, just getting A's all the time.
And I knew what I was going through was difficult, for sure.
(09:34):
I don't deny that. But I realized that in order to
get out of this situation, I needed to pursue and keep
pursuing. And so, yeah, I just tried to
aim for my best the year after that and the year after that.
But it is very difficult. Like I said, when you are
homeless or dealing with housingissues or domestic violence or
(09:59):
any kind of, you know, complex family life, children and Rana
tahi do not receive the support that they often need and feel
neglected and ignored, which is definitely how I felt when I was
going through this process. So yeah, it was difficult for
(10:22):
me. And I think having that
education and finally realizing what I needed to do is what
motivated me. It was my lifeline and something
I strived for. I think without education, I
would not be obviously in the position that I am today.
So yeah. And that's so, that's so
(10:43):
powerful. And you know, we talked about
the power of education and you see right in front of me, we can
see what's happened with education.
And my question for you is you during school time, you had
school as an anchor, but what about during the school
holidays? Because especially over the
summer big school holiday, that anchor disappears for you.
How did you, how are you managing that?
(11:04):
So I was in Tiaraha to yes, Year11 is when I left at the end of
year 11. So before that point, summer
holidays, I would often work, I would do a lot of under the
table jobs to make money and, you know, clean people's houses,
you know, all sorts of smaller chores to try and you know, help
(11:29):
get myself into a better financial position and still be
able to buy the equipment, especially that I needed for
school. And my uncle, actually, he's not
my biological uncle, but he cameto me one day and he said why
don't you help me out with my shop?
He had a ice cream truck and it was we would drive it around
(11:54):
together to different festivals and different events in the
Waikato and we would sell ice cream and milkshakes.
And that is how I made a lot of my money during the summer time
once he offered it to me. We would travel around a lot and
he was very popular, which was nice to see.
So that is, yeah, how I started to make my money before working
(12:19):
proper retail jobs once I moved up to Auckland.
So I did that all through year 11 especially, started to make
more money, you know, become more independent, leave more.
You know, I didn't have to return to that environment as
often anymore. I was still struggling with
(12:40):
being on the street a lot of thetime.
It got so bad that at one point I asked for emergency housing
and they told me I was safer sleeping in my car because in
the Waikato unfortunately gangs run a lot of the motels that
they put people in for emergencyhousing.
(13:02):
So I was literally denied from going there because of how
unsafe it was. And it was a massive wake up
call to me that this is a biggerissue than just basic
homelessness that you think of when you think of people being
displaced from their homes. It is people not even being safe
enough to stay somewhere, feel protected and have to sleep on
(13:25):
park benches as a consequence, when we live in a society where
for homeless people sleeping in the car is a privilege.
That is a failed society and a failed system in my opinion.
So I was very overwhelmed by that point, but it is what it
(13:47):
is. I apologies for the dog barking,
if you can hear, but yeah, it was very, I live in a very noisy
neighborhood. There's always something
happening, always dogs. But yeah, it was very important
to me to continue that education.
Like I said, education is the most powerful tool that you can
(14:10):
have. And because of that, it is the
reason I kept pursuing it. My uncle unfortunately got
cancer and he passed away. So by that point I was not able
to work anymore. The ice cream truck and I
started to feel like Tiara Hub became too small for me.
(14:33):
You know, everywhere I would go,it was very emotional for me.
You know, I wasn't able to go tothose events anymore, help out,
and he wasn't there. So when I was 16 I decided I
decided to move and I moved up to Auckland because I realized
(14:54):
that what is in a small town sometimes does not fit certain
people's needs and I wasn't getting the support I needed
down there. One thing people don't realize,
small towns such as the Yaraha, if you were struggling
financially, there is no supportsystem, no wrap around system
there to help you. You know, you might see on
(15:18):
occasion Salvation Army, but that is about it.
You know, there's not really anygroup to kind of lift you up and
get you back on your feet and soI moved up to Auckland because I
wanted a better life. Yeah.
And what does that move like foryou?
Because as you said, to to Ottawa, to Auckland, big, big
(15:40):
city. And when when you were coming to
Auckland, you you were coming asa homeless Vangatta here as
well. Is that correct?
So I came up to Auckland becauseI wanted better opportunities.
You know, there's more jobs up here, you have shopping malls,
you have all kinds of different things within close range.
(16:02):
So I came up to Auckland. I enrolled in Green Bay High
School for year 12 and year 13 and the house I ended up staying
in was the last one that was in zone.
So I moved in with a family member there and it was going
well. I got a job at Cotton On.
(16:23):
Actually. I worked there for a Christmas
casual and in between that I wasstill doing jobs here and there
for different people, you know, just basic jobs.
I would walk dogs and do anything to kind of make money.
But that was, you know, the mostimportant thing for me was not
(16:46):
the money, it was the education.Again, unfortunately, again, in
places like Tiaraha, there is very limited things that you can
do. For example, if you think of
this school itself, it is very standard.
You know what you picture when you think of high school.
You can know science, math, English, history, and that was
(17:10):
kind of it. There was no special classes
tailored towards specific thingsthat people needed to do.
In my case, I wanted to get intopolitical science and political
journalism, but it didn't have the things I needed.
So when I came up to Auckland, Isaw that there was, first of
(17:31):
all, media studies class up here, which I immediately signed
up for because that was a major thing that ties into my degree
that I needed to have credits for.
Yeah. So just small things like that.
Over time, you know, once my uncle had passed away, I
realized after doing some research that actually it would
(17:53):
be better for me to move. And if I needed extra support,
that support would be up here, Yeah.
Yeah, beautiful. And what is it like, you know,
from to to I'm guessing you're to Tahara College.
I could be wrong to come to green to green to Green Bay.
What is the big difference for you as you noticed a a more
diverse community of of peers? Yes, it was very different in
(18:18):
terms of the atmosphere. For me it was very more
opportunities, more connections as well more people to meet,
which was very important to me. Tara has a very small community
and the high school there is, I think only around 200, like 250
students to 300 students maybe. So not much happening as you can
(18:43):
imagine. And I remember the first day I
went to high school up here, I was shocked how many people
there were. There was people flying down the
car doors and there was thousands, like just like 1000
people. And I was just so surprised.
But it in a good way because I knew that, you know, this school
was going to able, you know, be able to give me the connections
(19:07):
I needed in order to, you know, be a part of something bigger
than just what I had before. The Araha College is an
absolutely lovely school and it is a lovely community.
But I think I definitely needed what was available up in
Auckland because it had again that further wrap around
(19:31):
support. Unfortunately however, it wasn't
all smooth sailing. If anyone has read the stuff
article by Mildred Arma. A beautifully written article.
But it does go downhill from here.
I was living with a family member and in October of 2023 I
(19:53):
became homeless again. I unfortunately was kicked out
of my home and didn't have anywhere to go.
I would stay with friends occasionally, but it was very
embarrassing because I had a massive duffel bag that I had
with me, which I would carry allof my clothing and my laptop and
(20:15):
all of my stuff in it. And it was.
Shameful to me, I was embarrassed because I would go
to school everyday with a duffelbag and people would ask me, oh
you know, why do you have this with you?
You know, is something wrong? And it would be awful to have to
admit to myself I'm homeless again.
(20:37):
And for a long time, I felt likeI had failed, like it was my
fault for being back in this position, even though
realistically it is never the child's fault for, you know,
things out of their control. But yeah, it was not smooth
sailing. And yeah, being homeless again,
(21:00):
especially in Auckland, was a massive shock to me.
I didn't think it would happen or I thought maybe there would
be more support, but I think a lot of sectors nowadays,
especially post COVID, have beenvery underfunded and let down.
(21:22):
They don't have the capability to help all people who are going
through things like homelessnessor financial crisis or food
instability. There are so many aspects that
people are currently suffering from in this economy, and it hit
me very hard, Yeah. And I and I, and I want to
(21:42):
acknowledge you for that becauseit might sound like everything
was hunky Dory, but even in amongst all the hunky doryness,
there was always, you know, you,you're finding your new
identity, who Kiara is now in Auckland.
And then just as you find your identity, the world shifts for
you. And you mentioned it, it was
very different for you in Auckland.
And if you if you were to paint a picture for for listeners,
(22:03):
what is it like being homeless in Auckland for you?
It is very different in a way that is hard to explain.
I think the biggest thing for meis how unsafe it is.
You know, being a young woman and living up on the street is
(22:24):
very different in Auckland than it is in places like Tiara.
You come up here, there is so many more people and you have to
be very careful of your surroundings and who, you know,
presents himself to you. I've had people come up to me in
the past, not often, but enough where they say, oh, you know, I
(22:46):
can help you in this situation, but you can tell that it is not
safe to be in that position and you have to walk away.
As difficult as it is, the hardest part, I know for people,
even my friends who have been through homelessness and
continue to be homeless, the hardest thing that they went
(23:07):
through and what I have been through is being taken advantage
of. Something that isn't talked
about is often people who are desperate and they're on their
last legs are given all these promises of what could be.
And because they have nothing tolose, they jump at any chance
they get. And then when it falls short,
(23:29):
when they, you know, lose that hope, it impacts them in a way
that is difficult to be understood, I think, by people
who have not feared where they're going to sleep tonight
or how they're going to get food.
Because of that. It is, you know, important to do
(23:49):
things like this and advocate for homeless people.
I'm very lucky, very privileged to be in the position now where
I am living in a cabin at the moment on the property.
But even still, it is so sad to see for years now just the
growing amount of homeless people even walking down Queen
(24:11):
St. You know, when I first came up
here and I was going through a very rough period myself, I
would walk down Queen St. and you maybe see two or three
homeless people. Now I walk down and there is 3
times that amount and I get to know these people personally.
And it impacts you deeply because this is your family.
(24:32):
You know, you get to know them on the street, know them
personally, know their story. And so when you get to see who
they really are and not just someone sitting on the sidewalk,
when you get to know their name and know their personality and
how they ended up in this position, it hits you very deep.
And that is something that I hadn't experienced until I came
(24:55):
to Auckland and something very important that needs to be
acknowledged. And thank you for bringing the
update. I'm Chiara.
Because, you know, I say this because, I mean, you never think
about these things here. You see someone sitting on the
street, you don't think about this story.
You know, they're a person. And everyone just walks past
really fast and does their thing.
(25:17):
And I, and I guess for you as you sit here today and as we
have our listeners, what is something that you, you know,
you, you've met all these amazing humans on that are on
the street that are homeless, not, not by choice, that nobody
wants to be homeless, that this is not a choice.
But life throws curve balls. And you know, if you end up
where you are, and as you said before, it is what it is at
that, at that point in time. What is the most common reason
(25:40):
as you talk to your your your, your community why people end up
homeless in New Zealand specifically?
Yeah, just I guess the best way to put it is this is what I call
it, sold out of the market. Like, you know, these people
once had the houses and, you know, pricing just went up, You
know, they can't afford the rentanymore.
(26:02):
Eventually someone that I was living with had to leave their
place because the rent they werejust upping at a hundred $150.00
overnight. They decided we want more money.
You can't afford the place you can leave.
And this is the reality for people, for tenants especially.
(26:23):
There is not enough protection for tenants and people who are
at the risk of homelessness. One thing I love to remind
people who try and debate homelessness or have even said
to me that it is not a big deal.Like, I've had people say that
to me that, you know, it is an overreaction.
There's not actually that many homeless people.
(26:45):
And I love to remind people you are more likely in your whole
life to become a homeless personthan ever become a millionaire.
You know, the position that New Zealand is in economically,
individually and on the grand scale at the moment is
astronomically low and devastating.
(27:06):
There is people who went from being home owners to overnight
being on the street. I saw a interview where Patty
Gower actually was talking to people in Waitamata Burtamont at
the train station and saying what is your biggest concern,
what he is wearing at the moment?
And a man came up to him and he said, I've never been homeless
(27:30):
in my entire life. And just like that, basically he
lost everything. And now he there's just him and
they blanket and they're on the street.
So it is not the stereotypical old, white, scruffy, angry man
that is going to attack you. And this really scary.
You know, these are fathers and mothers and sisters people, real
(27:54):
people who one day woke up and they often lost everything
because either being taken advantage of or not being able
to keep up financially, losing their jobs.
But there's another big one thatpeople do not like to talk
about. A lot of people become homeless
because they lose their jobs. What can you do?
(28:16):
You know, we're in a recession at the moment.
And it is, you know, so sad to see all these people that had
massive ambitions. And overnight, it is gone.
Important thing for people to realize is homeless people,
we're not dangerous, we're not going to attack you.
(28:37):
You know, we don't we don't become homeless so we can sit
there for 18 hours on the side of the road waiting for someone
to walk past so we can attack you and rob you.
You know, unfortunately there are some cases out there, as
with every person that there is going to be an attack.
But I think a problem with the media and people's perception is
(28:59):
they often like to take a very, very small minority of people
who do something out of desperation and kind of
categorize us all as being dangerous people.
I even remember being on the street and people would be
afraid to approach me and ask meif I'm OK because they just see
(29:22):
people like me as thieves. And that it is our fault we got
ourselves into this position. Maybe we were drug addicts or
Alcoholics and we drank ourselves into being homeless.
We didn't do that. It was failure on other people's
thoughts most of the time that have led us to being perceived
(29:45):
as animals. And it is, it is very sad to be
on the receiving end of that. You know what I love that Kiara,
is your perspective right there right now.
It's you're more likely to be homeless than a millionaire is
such crazy perspective. And in what you have just said
now with the perspective, with that perspective in that people
(30:08):
are just humans, humans are humans.
You know, whether you are the wealthiest person in the world
or whether you are the poorest person in the world in the
street, you're just a human. And I think what has happened
is, as you have said, is the media or the narrative is
portrayed that whether you are super rich or whether you are on
the streets, you are a certain kind of person.
And therefore people, people paint a picture based on that
day. And for those that are homeless,
(30:30):
there's a picture painted that they're all people that are out
to get you or, you know, they'rebad people.
And obviously, as you said, there's some in every society,
they have bad people every society.
And it doesn't, it could be anyway, you could be the richest
person, be a evil person. You could be.
It doesn't matter. There's no, it doesn't evil
doesn't come with where you state yourself in life is it's
(30:50):
just you as a person. And that's a, that's a great,
great perspective. And what I, what I, I'm, you're
really curious as, as you sit here and as you've gone through
this is when you think about in New Zealand, we have, I'm going
to put this in quotation marks. You have a government that or a
government sector that says theywill help people.
But you've seen the failings of that there, especially as you
(31:11):
said, you know, it's, it's saferfor you to be on the street or
to be in there in emergency housing.
That is a failure right there. Yeah, it is a failure.
And I think the biggest reason why is because the government
likes to pretend that we have different species.
Sometimes they like to pretend that just to just to clarify for
(31:31):
people out there who don't see homeless people as humans or
like to demonize them, we all bleed the same red.
We all bleed the same red. You know, there is no difference
between 1 human and another. We are all human, we all deserve
human rights and it is very tragic to see that there are
(31:53):
narratives being pushed, especially by our current
government. This infuriates me that, you
know, we are doing great as a country from people who have
never walked the street and never spoken to any homeless
person and said to their face that we are doing great as a
society when they know we are not.
(32:15):
We are in the recession. You know, we just had the
statistics come out and facts come out about, for example, one
company receiving thousands of applications in one day for a
minimum paying job because people are so desperate.
(32:35):
So when you are taking a societythat has, you know, a large
amount of people in it who are not being represented, not being
heard, not even being asked the question of what do you want to
see change paired with a government that pretends that
this doesn't exist and that my people, you know, my family who
(32:59):
are still out on the street do not exist.
It is very disconnected in a waythat it shouldn't be.
I had the privilege of going to an aspiring aspiring leaders
forum. Forum.
Yeah, yeah. I went a couple of months ago
(33:22):
and it was so eye opening to sitin the gallery in Parliament and
see the discourse during Question Time.
You know, you see it on TV and just kind of like watching a
show. I think some people think, you
know, you're just watching something on TV.
It's how can it impact me, you know?
But you go and you sit in the gallery in person and you see
(33:44):
some of the debating and the language and the rhetoric that
is weaponized during things likeQuestion Time.
And it is so sad as a person whodoes not believe that human
rights should be a debate, they should be basic, you know,
(34:04):
respect for all you know, everybody should have them.
That is why it's called human rights.
And to see something so pure andwell-intentioned being turned
into a weapon to fight between political parties, it's, it's
it's devastating. And I don't understand it
(34:27):
personally. I had the conversation with
someone I know last night, actually, and I just remember
saying that. I don't understand why they keep
saying we need more time. We need more time for a lot of
these legislations. When the people who are, you
know, dying during winter because they don't even have
(34:47):
blankets or heating and they're freezing to death and they're
malnourished, they don't have time, you know, they do not have
the opportunity to just put a hold on, you know, whatever is
inconvenient for them and their life or whatever is harming them
and, you know, killing them, that's killing them.
They cannot just put it on hold and leave it for another day.
(35:10):
It is happening right now. It is happening tonight.
There are people out on the street tonight.
And it is, you know, it should never.
Human rights and people's, you know, right to survive should
never be a weapon or a debate. I think if we have gotten to a
(35:33):
stage where people are denying people like me exist, denying my
story or giving backlash to people like me, stigma to people
like me and pretending that we are deserving or it is our fault
for the position we're in. These people have never had a
(35:53):
day in their life where they have thought, how am I going to
put food on the table for me andmy far now?
And so we need to have a massive, I think, like
reinvention of what we understand as a government and a
society and really consider the people who are currently not
(36:18):
having a voice at all. That is so, so powerful.
And, and I think, you know, one of my key takeaways some what
you've just said is sometimes welook to the government, but it
costs us nothing as a human being to just do stuff, you
know, you know, some people are like, oh, it's the government's
(36:39):
problem or whatever, but it doesn't cost me to be a good
person to someone on the street.And it also doesn't.
Yeah. And it also doesn't cost you to
go up to someone and ask them, are you OK?
Yeah, That doesn't cost you anything to spend a minute of
your time out of the thousands of millions of minutes you'll
(37:01):
have in your lifetime just to sit down with someone and say,
are you OK? You know what?
Can I, how can I help you? If every single person in Alta
Arora, you know, took a minute, just one minute to do something
good every single day, think about how much better this
country would be. But we don't do that.
(37:24):
And walking to university, walking down Queen St. and
seeing all these people just pass by like it is nothing is
the most heartbreaking thing. That is the most heartbreaking
thing because these people should not be, should not be
(37:44):
overlooked, you know, And if I had all the money in the world,
you know, I would help them myself.
But I don't, you know, I'm only so limited.
I'm a uni student, you know, I am financially struggling
myself. But I even take time to sit with
people and ask how they are. So if you as a viewer, next
(38:07):
time, if you're walking down Queen St. and you see someone
who looks like they're really not doing well, just take a
moment to ask, are you OK? Because that can be the question
that really opens up someone's, you know, gateway into talking
about something that is so stigmatized and shameful in our
(38:29):
society. And, and I love that because
it's not just if our listeners who are from wherever you are in
the world, homelessness is not just a New Zealand and Auckland
problem that is in every, everywhere in the world.
And you know, different, obviously different parts of the
world have different reasons anddifferent.
But the people are people and humans are humans.
(38:50):
And as you said before, the displacement has happened to
them not, not because they want to.
Yeah. And for whatever reason.
And thank you for sharing it. And I can see the power and the
passion. And I, and I want to know circle
back to Chiara's story, because the story, the story still has
a, you know, we went downhill and then we're going to go
(39:10):
uphill now because I think there's an uphill here.
Yeah, you, you, we speak about this very powerfully, but still
university might not have been on your horizon.
And I, and I know and I read thearticle and I know why it was,
but I'd love for you to share with our, with our viewers that
person that got you to apply forscholarship, which then ended up
which just changed your trajectory just a little bit.
(39:33):
Yes. So by year 12 I was doing
incredibly well. Year 1112 and 13, I received
excellent endorsement for NCA levels across the whole board.
Year 12, I remember being calledinto the office and I was told
by the careers people at the time, they said we have this
(39:56):
scholarship, we've just been emailed, they want to take a
look at it. It is for people who have good
results, but they do not have the money to go to university.
So I had a look and it was firstFoundation scholarship.
So I went through, I read through the entire thing, looked
(40:16):
at the application, and I decided, yeah, I want to fill
this out. So I filled it out, I submitted
it and not long later, I think it was early the next year, I
got told that I was a recipient.I had, you know, received the
award and I was so proud of myself because it was the first
(40:37):
moment in my life where I had, you know, realize there is a
chance for me. I can go to university.
You know, I'm not going to be stuck in this position forever.
You know, a lot of people think that it's just going from not
being homeless to being homeless.
But there is a whole cycle of emotions and processes and the
(41:02):
system. There is a whole cycle that
people, average people do not see.
And so when I was in the lowest point, I received that news and
I was like, for the first time in my life went wow, I can
actually go to university and make a difference.
So I got accepted into the program and then I went to the
(41:24):
award ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful and
I got to meet some of the most amazing people.
I met Millie, I met Isaac, so many different people.
Kirk, everyone who gets involvedand, you know, is always
ensuring that the students are being well taken care of.
That was very special to me. And I also got to meet my
(41:47):
mentor, Ali Butler. Massive shout out to Ali Butler.
She is the most beautiful, amazing human being and has been
my absolute support system from day one.
When I met her, you know, I was very anxious, you know, leading
up to meeting my mentor, I was thinking, you know, I want to
(42:07):
make a good impression, you know, and I'm very social
person, but sometimes meeting new people can be scary.
And we just clicked like that. And so we catch up often.
And, you know, she's she gets tosee me pursue my studies and
she's pursuing her own studies. So we support each other.
(42:28):
Not through God, but yeah, having the mentor support was
one of the most fundamental things for me.
It's kind of like having a parent when you don't have
parents, you know, you have someone to guide you through
that process. Having an older sister, even
she's like an older sister, and just having someone there to
(42:49):
say, you know, you're doing so well, I'm backing you.
I'm here all the way, so having a mentor was really important.
And the financial side of it, you know, scholarship is able to
ensure that I can afford to go to uni.
I'm not going to leave with this$30,000 debt that a lot of
people see. And it motivated me definitely
(43:12):
to get that, you know, to get good grades in my last year,
yeah. Yeah, and and I want to do and
and this is where I say, you know the story.
I mean, life is a roller coasterand this is the roller coaster
where you ride it. But but but the ride only
becomes easier because the people that support you.
So shout out to the team at Green at Green by for pointing
you out and say, Hey, this is anopportunity.
(43:34):
And a shout out to the crew at First Foundation, you know,
Isaac and Kirk and the crew for senior application.
And also shout out to Ellie Butler for, you know, being a
mentor. I think it's important for us to
shout out people because as you said before, you know, when
there's no, and this is for anybody, when there's no support
before pretty quickly and when they support, whatever the
support, you can see what happens.
Your your life changes quite dramatically.
(43:55):
Definitely 100% if it wasn't forthose people backing me.
And I often find this, the people who, you know, kind of
hide in the shadows and do the most of the work and not, you
know, take any recognition for it.
They're just happy working, pottering along, you know,
helping as many people as they can.
And I think a lot of those people don't get the recognized
(44:17):
enough. And it is something that I
aspire to be like them. They're definitely my role
models. So, yeah, I think it is very
powerful and very impactful to see so many people care when
sometimes it feels like the world is against you.
You get to actually see that. No, there are people out there
(44:39):
who want to see you succeed, want to see you go to
university. And that was the the biggest,
you know, life changer for me completely.
And yeah, so now I'm in my firstyear at AUT and it is going
amazing for me. I've got really good grades so
far, I'm in the last stretch, I've got about 6 more
(45:01):
assignments to do and then I am on summer holidays.
But I am so glad that I picked this degree and communications
at AUT is absolutely fantastic course.
If anyone wants to do communications watching this, I
definitely recommend AUT. The lecturers as well are some
of the most amazing, sweet, caring, kind people.
(45:25):
And I, you know, just the whole AOT atmosphere, I couldn't
imagine being anywhere else. When the article came out, I had
so many people come up to me andlectures and they said I read
your article. Wow.
Like I wouldn't have expected this from you.
You know, this life. And it's like, again, that whole
(45:46):
point of it can happen to anybody and anybody can come out
of it succeeding. You know, just because you're
homeless now doesn't mean you don't have a future.
And so it was very important forme to receive that positive
feedback from my school, from AUT, from my mentor and the
(46:10):
people at First Foundation. That is the wrap around support
that young people from Attahi need.
And yeah, and I want to ask you this question here.
What does it feel like for you to Share your story?
And I asked this because in the context of what you've gone
through to sharing into a a medium that is read by millions
of people around around around the world essentially.
(46:32):
Yeah, it was so empowering to meto kind of get my story back to
being my story for so many years.
Especially. I know a lot of people will
understand this feeling when they have gone through
households that do not respect them or like to hear their
voice. Growing up, for me, it was
(46:54):
always children should be seen, not heard.
That was a massive saying growing up.
So being able to reclaim my story and be able to tell it the
way that it is in my life, it was so impactful.
And so just wow, like, I don't have words.
(47:14):
You know, my whole life I was told not to talk about these
things, you know, not to acknowledge the suffering I had
been through. You know, think about, think
about the people in your life, think about your family, think
about all these aspects. And it was like, well, what
about me? Can't I think about myself?
You know, I don't. I have a story that people can
(47:37):
learn from. And, you know, maybe it will
help them someday. And so when I got the call from
Isaac saying, hey, a lady from Stephen's head wants to
interview you. She wants to Share your story.
It was the first time in my lifewhere I really felt like people
(48:00):
were going to finally hear me. And, and I love, and I love that
because as you said before, you know, too many times a lot of us
live our world telling other people stories.
And we all have our stories to share, you know, whatever the
story is. And, and a lot of times we, we
either talk ourselves out of it because our story is not good
(48:22):
enough, you know, or people tellus not to tell our story because
it's not good enough for them. And I love the fact that you've
owned it and you're telling the story, your story, which is
beautiful. Thank you.
Yeah. Yeah, I know You have to.
You have to head away soon. Yeah, yes.
But then thank you so much for this.
(48:44):
And yeah, like I said earlier, having this platform, an amazing
podcast to give people the voice, be able to speak about
these things. And I just think that my main
take away for the people listening is that, you know,
anybody in your life, anybody inanyone's life can, you know, be
(49:06):
homeless, suffer in imaginable way.
(49:36):
Kiara, thank you for sharing a lot.
And we have a tradition in our in our podcast, it's called
Baskets of knowledge. In every episode we record, we
invite our guests to share a piece of knowledge to put into
our baskets. Would love your your knowledge
to put into our baskets. Yes, I think my knowledge for
this episode, for listeners to take away is just know that, you
(49:59):
know, anybody in your life can be homeless.
Anybody in your life can suffer financial hardship, you know,
even if they don't share it. You know, there is such
embarrassment and shame and stigma in this country and we
need to break down those walls, You know, to be a Kiwi, to be an
Altaroa is to be connected to other people, you know, and to
(50:23):
have the money to know where youcome from and your place in this
world. And that should not be stopped
by prevention of, you know, human rights.
You know, everybody, no matter what path they come from in
life, should be given an opportunity always.
(50:45):
And I think it is very beautifulto see people in the community,
organizations in the community, trying their best to help,
especially young people and the most vulnerable people in our
society get back to a place thatis good, you know, get back to
safety and security. But it is not enough.
(51:08):
We need more people to be stepping up, to be doing the
hard work, you know, had Mahi tobe putting their hand up even in
situations where they don't wantto be in saying, hey, I want to
put a foot forward and I want tohelp someone else and help make
their life better. And if you have the opportunity,
(51:31):
next time you're walking down the street and you see somebody
who is not doing well, you see someone who is homeless or maybe
just going through a rough time,just take a minute of your day,
just one minute even to ask, areyou doing OK?
What a what a beautiful, beautiful take away there.
You know, in any one of us can do this wherever you are in the
(51:52):
world and you're listening, if you see someone that is, you
know, they're actually be homeless.
They can just obviously see thatsomeone's in distress.
You can ask them, are you doing OK or how can I help you or can
I help you today, which is really beautiful.
What a great, what a great, great way to in today's podcast,
Kiara, I mean, we've only touched the surface of your
story and one hour is not enough.
(52:13):
I think we can go deep and deep and deep, but it is Friday and
you've got things to do. I want to acknowledge you for
sharing your story, for going, for going to places that may
have been emotionally strong foryou.
But I know I've learnt a lot. And then our listeners have
learnt a lot and had a differentperspective.
When you look at people, you know, it's just about people.
People are people. So thank you for sharing that
(52:35):
today with us. Any last words before I say
thank you to you? Yeah, I just want to say massive
thank you to all the people who stuck around to listen to my
story and have sent amazing messages to me about the Stuff
article or even just been inspired by it, you know, been
inspired to go out and help morein the community.
(52:58):
And yeah, also thank you to thisamazing podcast for having me
on. It has been a great privilege to
be able to share my story here. It's a great privilege to have
you on here, so thank you so much for all listeners out
there. Hopefully you have listened in
to this podcast so that you've leaned in and just thought about
where you sit and where you think about yourself when you
(53:20):
see people that are homeless andyour own question.
As Kiara said, you're more likely to be homeless than to be
a millionaire. And let this sit with you.
And if you have fallen asleep during the podcast that is on
you, go back and have a listen again because it's pretty
fascinating. Till next time, to everyone out
there, don't forget to find a reason to smile.
Don't forget to put something inyour boss of knowledge.
And as Kiara said, don't forget to ask people how can help you
(53:44):
or are you doing OK? Till next time, take care
calculated. Bye everybody.
Peace. Thank you for listening to
Bastards of Knowledge. Yeah, we hope that you found
something useful to put into your bastard knowledge.
And as we said before, remember to put something little into
(54:04):
your baskets of knowledge every week.
And as always, feel free to like, comment and share this
podcast. Thanks, everybody.
Bye.
Hey everybody, it's Prajesh herein Tana here.
Welcome to our podcast, Passes of knowledge chats with a
difference. In our podcast, we invite guests
from around the country and around the world to talk about
how they got to where they at the moment.
It's about a journey, it's aboutan experience, it's about their
life. Dear Coat everybody, welcome to
(00:27):
another episode of Baskets of knowledge.
Today it's just me. Tony can't join us because he's
at a Mohammorai. So as always, like to share what
I put into my basket of knowledge since our last
episode. And the biggest learning that
I've had since the last episode was this afternoon.
I ran a coaching session and a client came in with, with
(00:50):
something that just seemed as a superficial comment, you know,
superficial thing to to talk about.
And very quickly that became very, very, very deep.
Because what I realized is that a lot of us have have a
superficial thing that we like to think about, but it's the
layers between and underneath that actually define who we are.
So I guess my learning is that when we think when we're talking
(01:12):
a conversation with somebody andwe really want to know about
them, we should look at what's beyond the words that they're
saying. So yeah, that's my my learning
what is beyond the words that they're saying.
But hey, it's not about me. That's not about me today, As
you all know, we scour the country and the world to find
people that we think are interesting to have on a
podcast. We think everyone is interesting
because everyone's got a story to tell.
(01:34):
Today's guest is someone that I only came across 3 weeks ago, 3
weeks ago. And when I So basically I'll
tell you the story. So I am a mentor in the NFS
Foundation, which is an organization which helps
Rungatahi in New Zealand do somereally cool things.
And the story was shared in the mentor check room.
And I had a look and I was like,wow, what an amazing story.
(01:54):
And as I read the story, I felt emotional.
I felt emotive, I felt inspired.Every single emotion under the
sun came through. And it will be a travesty of
justice to the world if we don'tget to share the story with this
inspirational young person, which is why we've been invited
this inspiring young wahine on our podcast.
(02:14):
Welcome to Passes of knowledge, Chiara.
Everyone, my name is Kiara and Iam a 19 year old first year
student at AUT and I am currently studying bachelor
Communications. I just want to say thank you so
much for having me on this podcast and apologies if you
(02:35):
hear a dog in the background. It is the neighbour's dog.
Hey, hey, we invite dogs into this podcast as anybody.
It's your world, which is great.Kiara, thank you for telling us
who you are and what you're doing at the moment.
And if we rewind it a little bit, actually a fun fact, before
we jumped on the podcast, I asked Kiara where her accent
(02:55):
comes from. Kiara, do you know tell guess
where the accent comes from? So basically some of my family
is from Italy, but I have familyall over the world, a very
diverse background. They came from Milan down to
Christchurch and my great, great, not my great great,
sorry, my great grandmother, shelocated the whole family.
(03:19):
She had my grandfather and 13 other children, so massive
family. But yeah, we located to New
Zealand and then slowly moved upto the North Island and to
Auckland eventually. And here I am, yeah.
Yeah, you are today. But this, you've given us a very
(03:41):
brief overview, but your life story has not been as simple as
that be. And you know, if we, if we if we
take you back and talk about today, you're in your
university, you're doing your first year, maybe if we go five
years ago, was this even on yourhorizon?
No, it wasn't. So my life story is a very
(04:03):
complex story. I became independent at 13, but
before that point I was very emotionally independent and did
a lot of things for myself even while living with adults.
In my case, my background, it was kind of you have to grow up
fast and learn quickly, otherwise you'll be left behind.
(04:27):
And while no child should have to deal with that, it was the
reality for me. So by 13 years old, I was
overseas and I woke up one day and I looked around at my
environment and I realized this isn't good for me.
This is not what I need in my life and I should leave, you
(04:47):
know, I'm basically independent already and I know I can do it.
And so I booked the ticket and Icame back to New Zealand.
I traveled down to my hometown in Tiaroha in the Waikato and
began to stay with family. But unfortunately due to
(05:08):
circumstances such as alcoholismand just complex family
dynamics, it did not work out and after a while I was not safe
to stay there. So by 13 I was often homeless.
I would stay sometimes at friends places or go and shower
(05:30):
there before school if I was allowed to, but I often found
myself sleeping at the park benches because there was
nowhere else to go and I didn't feel safe going home.
So that is how my life, my teenage life started out.
(05:52):
It was very rough, especially going to school during that
time. It was the lowest tier on my
thought list of what was important because I was in such
a survival mode that I didn't really consider year 9 as, you
know, what I needed at the moment.
You know, it was important to meand I wanted to go to school.
(06:15):
But the problem is with people who are homeless is they cannot
prioritize things like educationbecause they need to prioritize
surviving first. So Year 9, by that point, I
never thought I would make it touniversity.
You know, it got so bad to a point where I thought that my
(06:36):
life would be on the street forever.
Like I did not see a way forward, I did not see a path,
which is very scary to consider a young wahine.
It is difficult to already navigate your way through life
(06:57):
and especially when you feel like everything is against you,
it yeah, it is very difficult. And then give a shame that there
because I think this gives good context as where you come from.
Yeah. And I want I want to touch on
touch on something that you saidthat, you know, school was not
(07:18):
number one in your priority. Survival was.
So what did it feel like you when you, you you had to go to
school, but actually you didn't want to be there because, you
know, survival, finding food wasprobably what is it like for you
And the because you're seeing your peers in in the class
living, living a life that was very different to you.
(07:40):
It was very difficult because the nights that I did not go
home, I remember I would be at school and I would be sitting in
class just focusing on my work as much as possible.
Or sometimes this was during COVID time as well, when that
was still occurring, I would be on Zoom and I just had no
(08:02):
motivation because I didn't feellike I could kind of relate to
my peers. And so as I went into year 10, I
passed year 9, but I did really poorly.
Most of my classes, I only got an A and barely scraped the
barrel because of what was happening at the time at home.
(08:25):
So I got to year 10, and I remember going to school and
after class I would go into the bathroom and get changed into
normal clothes. And I would leave.
And all these parents would be picking the kids up.
And it would be, you know, they had such a good connection.
And I would watch that and I would think, wow, if only I had
(08:48):
that, then, you know, maybe it would be easier for me.
Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about where would I go at the
end of the day. But that was not the reality for
me. It distracted me heavily from
school. And by the time year 10
finished, I was absolutely devastated.
(09:09):
And this was my turning point. I got back my final results on a
sheet of how I had done overall for the year.
And I just remember thinking to myself, you can do so much
better than this. You know, this is not the life
you want to live, just getting A's all the time.
And I knew what I was going through was difficult, for sure.
(09:34):
I don't deny that. But I realized that in order to
get out of this situation, I needed to pursue and keep
pursuing. And so, yeah, I just tried to
aim for my best the year after that and the year after that.
But it is very difficult. Like I said, when you are
homeless or dealing with housingissues or domestic violence or
(09:59):
any kind of, you know, complex family life, children and Rana
tahi do not receive the support that they often need and feel
neglected and ignored, which is definitely how I felt when I was
going through this process. So yeah, it was difficult for
(10:22):
me. And I think having that
education and finally realizing what I needed to do is what
motivated me. It was my lifeline and something
I strived for. I think without education, I
would not be obviously in the position that I am today.
So yeah. And that's so, that's so
(10:43):
powerful. And you know, we talked about
the power of education and you see right in front of me, we can
see what's happened with education.
And my question for you is you during school time, you had
school as an anchor, but what about during the school
holidays? Because especially over the
summer big school holiday, that anchor disappears for you.
How did you, how are you managing that?
(11:04):
So I was in Tiaraha to yes, Year11 is when I left at the end of
year 11. So before that point, summer
holidays, I would often work, I would do a lot of under the
table jobs to make money and, you know, clean people's houses,
you know, all sorts of smaller chores to try and you know, help
(11:29):
get myself into a better financial position and still be
able to buy the equipment, especially that I needed for
school. And my uncle, actually, he's not
my biological uncle, but he cameto me one day and he said why
don't you help me out with my shop?
He had a ice cream truck and it was we would drive it around
(11:54):
together to different festivals and different events in the
Waikato and we would sell ice cream and milkshakes.
And that is how I made a lot of my money during the summer time
once he offered it to me. We would travel around a lot and
he was very popular, which was nice to see.
So that is, yeah, how I started to make my money before working
(12:19):
proper retail jobs once I moved up to Auckland.
So I did that all through year 11 especially, started to make
more money, you know, become more independent, leave more.
You know, I didn't have to return to that environment as
often anymore. I was still struggling with
(12:40):
being on the street a lot of thetime.
It got so bad that at one point I asked for emergency housing
and they told me I was safer sleeping in my car because in
the Waikato unfortunately gangs run a lot of the motels that
they put people in for emergencyhousing.
(13:02):
So I was literally denied from going there because of how
unsafe it was. And it was a massive wake up
call to me that this is a biggerissue than just basic
homelessness that you think of when you think of people being
displaced from their homes. It is people not even being safe
enough to stay somewhere, feel protected and have to sleep on
(13:25):
park benches as a consequence, when we live in a society where
for homeless people sleeping in the car is a privilege.
That is a failed society and a failed system in my opinion.
So I was very overwhelmed by that point, but it is what it
(13:47):
is. I apologies for the dog barking,
if you can hear, but yeah, it was very, I live in a very noisy
neighborhood. There's always something
happening, always dogs. But yeah, it was very important
to me to continue that education.
Like I said, education is the most powerful tool that you can
(14:10):
have. And because of that, it is the
reason I kept pursuing it. My uncle unfortunately got
cancer and he passed away. So by that point I was not able
to work anymore. The ice cream truck and I
started to feel like Tiara Hub became too small for me.
(14:33):
You know, everywhere I would go,it was very emotional for me.
You know, I wasn't able to go tothose events anymore, help out,
and he wasn't there. So when I was 16 I decided I
decided to move and I moved up to Auckland because I realized
(14:54):
that what is in a small town sometimes does not fit certain
people's needs and I wasn't getting the support I needed
down there. One thing people don't realize,
small towns such as the Yaraha, if you were struggling
financially, there is no supportsystem, no wrap around system
there to help you. You know, you might see on
(15:18):
occasion Salvation Army, but that is about it.
You know, there's not really anygroup to kind of lift you up and
get you back on your feet and soI moved up to Auckland because I
wanted a better life. Yeah.
And what does that move like foryou?
Because as you said, to to Ottawa, to Auckland, big, big
(15:40):
city. And when when you were coming to
Auckland, you you were coming asa homeless Vangatta here as
well. Is that correct?
So I came up to Auckland becauseI wanted better opportunities.
You know, there's more jobs up here, you have shopping malls,
you have all kinds of different things within close range.
(16:02):
So I came up to Auckland. I enrolled in Green Bay High
School for year 12 and year 13 and the house I ended up staying
in was the last one that was in zone.
So I moved in with a family member there and it was going
well. I got a job at Cotton On.
(16:23):
Actually. I worked there for a Christmas
casual and in between that I wasstill doing jobs here and there
for different people, you know, just basic jobs.
I would walk dogs and do anything to kind of make money.
But that was, you know, the mostimportant thing for me was not
(16:46):
the money, it was the education.Again, unfortunately, again, in
places like Tiaraha, there is very limited things that you can
do. For example, if you think of
this school itself, it is very standard.
You know what you picture when you think of high school.
You can know science, math, English, history, and that was
(17:10):
kind of it. There was no special classes
tailored towards specific thingsthat people needed to do.
In my case, I wanted to get intopolitical science and political
journalism, but it didn't have the things I needed.
So when I came up to Auckland, Isaw that there was, first of
(17:31):
all, media studies class up here, which I immediately signed
up for because that was a major thing that ties into my degree
that I needed to have credits for.
Yeah. So just small things like that.
Over time, you know, once my uncle had passed away, I
realized after doing some research that actually it would
(17:53):
be better for me to move. And if I needed extra support,
that support would be up here, Yeah.
Yeah, beautiful. And what is it like, you know,
from to to I'm guessing you're to Tahara College.
I could be wrong to come to green to green to Green Bay.
What is the big difference for you as you noticed a a more
diverse community of of peers? Yes, it was very different in
(18:18):
terms of the atmosphere. For me it was very more
opportunities, more connections as well more people to meet,
which was very important to me. Tara has a very small community
and the high school there is, I think only around 200, like 250
students to 300 students maybe. So not much happening as you can
(18:43):
imagine. And I remember the first day I
went to high school up here, I was shocked how many people
there were. There was people flying down the
car doors and there was thousands, like just like 1000
people. And I was just so surprised.
But it in a good way because I knew that, you know, this school
was going to able, you know, be able to give me the connections
(19:07):
I needed in order to, you know, be a part of something bigger
than just what I had before. The Araha College is an
absolutely lovely school and it is a lovely community.
But I think I definitely needed what was available up in
Auckland because it had again that further wrap around
(19:31):
support. Unfortunately however, it wasn't
all smooth sailing. If anyone has read the stuff
article by Mildred Arma. A beautifully written article.
But it does go downhill from here.
I was living with a family member and in October of 2023 I
(19:53):
became homeless again. I unfortunately was kicked out
of my home and didn't have anywhere to go.
I would stay with friends occasionally, but it was very
embarrassing because I had a massive duffel bag that I had
with me, which I would carry allof my clothing and my laptop and
(20:15):
all of my stuff in it. And it was.
Shameful to me, I was embarrassed because I would go
to school everyday with a duffelbag and people would ask me, oh
you know, why do you have this with you?
You know, is something wrong? And it would be awful to have to
admit to myself I'm homeless again.
(20:37):
And for a long time, I felt likeI had failed, like it was my
fault for being back in this position, even though
realistically it is never the child's fault for, you know,
things out of their control. But yeah, it was not smooth
sailing. And yeah, being homeless again,
(21:00):
especially in Auckland, was a massive shock to me.
I didn't think it would happen or I thought maybe there would
be more support, but I think a lot of sectors nowadays,
especially post COVID, have beenvery underfunded and let down.
(21:22):
They don't have the capability to help all people who are going
through things like homelessnessor financial crisis or food
instability. There are so many aspects that
people are currently suffering from in this economy, and it hit
me very hard, Yeah. And I and I, and I want to
(21:42):
acknowledge you for that becauseit might sound like everything
was hunky Dory, but even in amongst all the hunky doryness,
there was always, you know, you,you're finding your new
identity, who Kiara is now in Auckland.
And then just as you find your identity, the world shifts for
you. And you mentioned it, it was
very different for you in Auckland.
And if you if you were to paint a picture for for listeners,
(22:03):
what is it like being homeless in Auckland for you?
It is very different in a way that is hard to explain.
I think the biggest thing for meis how unsafe it is.
You know, being a young woman and living up on the street is
(22:24):
very different in Auckland than it is in places like Tiara.
You come up here, there is so many more people and you have to
be very careful of your surroundings and who, you know,
presents himself to you. I've had people come up to me in
the past, not often, but enough where they say, oh, you know, I
(22:46):
can help you in this situation, but you can tell that it is not
safe to be in that position and you have to walk away.
As difficult as it is, the hardest part, I know for people,
even my friends who have been through homelessness and
continue to be homeless, the hardest thing that they went
(23:07):
through and what I have been through is being taken advantage
of. Something that isn't talked
about is often people who are desperate and they're on their
last legs are given all these promises of what could be.
And because they have nothing tolose, they jump at any chance
they get. And then when it falls short,
(23:29):
when they, you know, lose that hope, it impacts them in a way
that is difficult to be understood, I think, by people
who have not feared where they're going to sleep tonight
or how they're going to get food.
Because of that. It is, you know, important to do
(23:49):
things like this and advocate for homeless people.
I'm very lucky, very privileged to be in the position now where
I am living in a cabin at the moment on the property.
But even still, it is so sad to see for years now just the
growing amount of homeless people even walking down Queen
(24:11):
St. You know, when I first came up
here and I was going through a very rough period myself, I
would walk down Queen St. and you maybe see two or three
homeless people. Now I walk down and there is 3
times that amount and I get to know these people personally.
And it impacts you deeply because this is your family.
(24:32):
You know, you get to know them on the street, know them
personally, know their story. And so when you get to see who
they really are and not just someone sitting on the sidewalk,
when you get to know their name and know their personality and
how they ended up in this position, it hits you very deep.
And that is something that I hadn't experienced until I came
(24:55):
to Auckland and something very important that needs to be
acknowledged. And thank you for bringing the
update. I'm Chiara.
Because, you know, I say this because, I mean, you never think
about these things here. You see someone sitting on the
street, you don't think about this story.
You know, they're a person. And everyone just walks past
really fast and does their thing.
(25:17):
And I, and I guess for you as you sit here today and as we
have our listeners, what is something that you, you know,
you, you've met all these amazing humans on that are on
the street that are homeless, not, not by choice, that nobody
wants to be homeless, that this is not a choice.
But life throws curve balls. And you know, if you end up
where you are, and as you said before, it is what it is at
that, at that point in time. What is the most common reason
(25:40):
as you talk to your your your, your community why people end up
homeless in New Zealand specifically?
Yeah, just I guess the best way to put it is this is what I call
it, sold out of the market. Like, you know, these people
once had the houses and, you know, pricing just went up, You
know, they can't afford the rentanymore.
(26:02):
Eventually someone that I was living with had to leave their
place because the rent they werejust upping at a hundred $150.00
overnight. They decided we want more money.
You can't afford the place you can leave.
And this is the reality for people, for tenants especially.
(26:23):
There is not enough protection for tenants and people who are
at the risk of homelessness. One thing I love to remind
people who try and debate homelessness or have even said
to me that it is not a big deal.Like, I've had people say that
to me that, you know, it is an overreaction.
There's not actually that many homeless people.
(26:45):
And I love to remind people you are more likely in your whole
life to become a homeless personthan ever become a millionaire.
You know, the position that New Zealand is in economically,
individually and on the grand scale at the moment is
astronomically low and devastating.
(27:06):
There is people who went from being home owners to overnight
being on the street. I saw a interview where Patty
Gower actually was talking to people in Waitamata Burtamont at
the train station and saying what is your biggest concern,
what he is wearing at the moment?
And a man came up to him and he said, I've never been homeless
(27:30):
in my entire life. And just like that, basically he
lost everything. And now he there's just him and
they blanket and they're on the street.
So it is not the stereotypical old, white, scruffy, angry man
that is going to attack you. And this really scary.
You know, these are fathers and mothers and sisters people, real
(27:54):
people who one day woke up and they often lost everything
because either being taken advantage of or not being able
to keep up financially, losing their jobs.
But there's another big one thatpeople do not like to talk
about. A lot of people become homeless
because they lose their jobs. What can you do?
(28:16):
You know, we're in a recession at the moment.
And it is, you know, so sad to see all these people that had
massive ambitions. And overnight, it is gone.
Important thing for people to realize is homeless people,
we're not dangerous, we're not going to attack you.
(28:37):
You know, we don't we don't become homeless so we can sit
there for 18 hours on the side of the road waiting for someone
to walk past so we can attack you and rob you.
You know, unfortunately there are some cases out there, as
with every person that there is going to be an attack.
But I think a problem with the media and people's perception is
(28:59):
they often like to take a very, very small minority of people
who do something out of desperation and kind of
categorize us all as being dangerous people.
I even remember being on the street and people would be
afraid to approach me and ask meif I'm OK because they just see
(29:22):
people like me as thieves. And that it is our fault we got
ourselves into this position. Maybe we were drug addicts or
Alcoholics and we drank ourselves into being homeless.
We didn't do that. It was failure on other people's
thoughts most of the time that have led us to being perceived
(29:45):
as animals. And it is, it is very sad to be
on the receiving end of that. You know what I love that Kiara,
is your perspective right there right now.
It's you're more likely to be homeless than a millionaire is
such crazy perspective. And in what you have just said
now with the perspective, with that perspective in that people
(30:08):
are just humans, humans are humans.
You know, whether you are the wealthiest person in the world
or whether you are the poorest person in the world in the
street, you're just a human. And I think what has happened
is, as you have said, is the media or the narrative is
portrayed that whether you are super rich or whether you are on
the streets, you are a certain kind of person.
And therefore people, people paint a picture based on that
day. And for those that are homeless,
(30:30):
there's a picture painted that they're all people that are out
to get you or, you know, they'rebad people.
And obviously, as you said, there's some in every society,
they have bad people every society.
And it doesn't, it could be anyway, you could be the richest
person, be a evil person. You could be.
It doesn't matter. There's no, it doesn't evil
doesn't come with where you state yourself in life is it's
(30:50):
just you as a person. And that's a, that's a great,
great perspective. And what I, what I, I'm, you're
really curious as, as you sit here and as you've gone through
this is when you think about in New Zealand, we have, I'm going
to put this in quotation marks. You have a government that or a
government sector that says theywill help people.
But you've seen the failings of that there, especially as you
(31:11):
said, you know, it's, it's saferfor you to be on the street or
to be in there in emergency housing.
That is a failure right there. Yeah, it is a failure.
And I think the biggest reason why is because the government
likes to pretend that we have different species.
Sometimes they like to pretend that just to just to clarify for
(31:31):
people out there who don't see homeless people as humans or
like to demonize them, we all bleed the same red.
We all bleed the same red. You know, there is no difference
between 1 human and another. We are all human, we all deserve
human rights and it is very tragic to see that there are
(31:53):
narratives being pushed, especially by our current
government. This infuriates me that, you
know, we are doing great as a country from people who have
never walked the street and never spoken to any homeless
person and said to their face that we are doing great as a
society when they know we are not.
(32:15):
We are in the recession. You know, we just had the
statistics come out and facts come out about, for example, one
company receiving thousands of applications in one day for a
minimum paying job because people are so desperate.
(32:35):
So when you are taking a societythat has, you know, a large
amount of people in it who are not being represented, not being
heard, not even being asked the question of what do you want to
see change paired with a government that pretends that
this doesn't exist and that my people, you know, my family who
(32:59):
are still out on the street do not exist.
It is very disconnected in a waythat it shouldn't be.
I had the privilege of going to an aspiring aspiring leaders
forum. Forum.
Yeah, yeah. I went a couple of months ago
(33:22):
and it was so eye opening to sitin the gallery in Parliament and
see the discourse during Question Time.
You know, you see it on TV and just kind of like watching a
show. I think some people think, you
know, you're just watching something on TV.
It's how can it impact me, you know?
But you go and you sit in the gallery in person and you see
(33:44):
some of the debating and the language and the rhetoric that
is weaponized during things likeQuestion Time.
And it is so sad as a person whodoes not believe that human
rights should be a debate, they should be basic, you know,
(34:04):
respect for all you know, everybody should have them.
That is why it's called human rights.
And to see something so pure andwell-intentioned being turned
into a weapon to fight between political parties, it's, it's
it's devastating. And I don't understand it
(34:27):
personally. I had the conversation with
someone I know last night, actually, and I just remember
saying that. I don't understand why they keep
saying we need more time. We need more time for a lot of
these legislations. When the people who are, you
know, dying during winter because they don't even have
(34:47):
blankets or heating and they're freezing to death and they're
malnourished, they don't have time, you know, they do not have
the opportunity to just put a hold on, you know, whatever is
inconvenient for them and their life or whatever is harming them
and, you know, killing them, that's killing them.
They cannot just put it on hold and leave it for another day.
(35:10):
It is happening right now. It is happening tonight.
There are people out on the street tonight.
And it is, you know, it should never.
Human rights and people's, you know, right to survive should
never be a weapon or a debate. I think if we have gotten to a
(35:33):
stage where people are denying people like me exist, denying my
story or giving backlash to people like me, stigma to people
like me and pretending that we are deserving or it is our fault
for the position we're in. These people have never had a
(35:53):
day in their life where they have thought, how am I going to
put food on the table for me andmy far now?
And so we need to have a massive, I think, like
reinvention of what we understand as a government and a
society and really consider the people who are currently not
(36:18):
having a voice at all. That is so, so powerful.
And, and I think, you know, one of my key takeaways some what
you've just said is sometimes welook to the government, but it
costs us nothing as a human being to just do stuff, you
know, you know, some people are like, oh, it's the government's
(36:39):
problem or whatever, but it doesn't cost me to be a good
person to someone on the street.And it also doesn't.
Yeah. And it also doesn't cost you to
go up to someone and ask them, are you OK?
Yeah, That doesn't cost you anything to spend a minute of
your time out of the thousands of millions of minutes you'll
(37:01):
have in your lifetime just to sit down with someone and say,
are you OK? You know what?
Can I, how can I help you? If every single person in Alta
Arora, you know, took a minute, just one minute to do something
good every single day, think about how much better this
country would be. But we don't do that.
(37:24):
And walking to university, walking down Queen St. and
seeing all these people just pass by like it is nothing is
the most heartbreaking thing. That is the most heartbreaking
thing because these people should not be, should not be
(37:44):
overlooked, you know, And if I had all the money in the world,
you know, I would help them myself.
But I don't, you know, I'm only so limited.
I'm a uni student, you know, I am financially struggling
myself. But I even take time to sit with
people and ask how they are. So if you as a viewer, next
(38:07):
time, if you're walking down Queen St. and you see someone
who looks like they're really not doing well, just take a
moment to ask, are you OK? Because that can be the question
that really opens up someone's, you know, gateway into talking
about something that is so stigmatized and shameful in our
(38:29):
society. And, and I love that because
it's not just if our listeners who are from wherever you are in
the world, homelessness is not just a New Zealand and Auckland
problem that is in every, everywhere in the world.
And you know, different, obviously different parts of the
world have different reasons anddifferent.
But the people are people and humans are humans.
(38:50):
And as you said before, the displacement has happened to
them not, not because they want to.
Yeah. And for whatever reason.
And thank you for sharing it. And I can see the power and the
passion. And I, and I want to know circle
back to Chiara's story, because the story, the story still has
a, you know, we went downhill and then we're going to go
(39:10):
uphill now because I think there's an uphill here.
Yeah, you, you, we speak about this very powerfully, but still
university might not have been on your horizon.
And I, and I know and I read thearticle and I know why it was,
but I'd love for you to share with our, with our viewers that
person that got you to apply forscholarship, which then ended up
which just changed your trajectory just a little bit.
(39:33):
Yes. So by year 12 I was doing
incredibly well. Year 1112 and 13, I received
excellent endorsement for NCA levels across the whole board.
Year 12, I remember being calledinto the office and I was told
by the careers people at the time, they said we have this
(39:56):
scholarship, we've just been emailed, they want to take a
look at it. It is for people who have good
results, but they do not have the money to go to university.
So I had a look and it was firstFoundation scholarship.
So I went through, I read through the entire thing, looked
(40:16):
at the application, and I decided, yeah, I want to fill
this out. So I filled it out, I submitted
it and not long later, I think it was early the next year, I
got told that I was a recipient.I had, you know, received the
award and I was so proud of myself because it was the first
(40:37):
moment in my life where I had, you know, realize there is a
chance for me. I can go to university.
You know, I'm not going to be stuck in this position forever.
You know, a lot of people think that it's just going from not
being homeless to being homeless.
But there is a whole cycle of emotions and processes and the
(41:02):
system. There is a whole cycle that
people, average people do not see.
And so when I was in the lowest point, I received that news and
I was like, for the first time in my life went wow, I can
actually go to university and make a difference.
So I got accepted into the program and then I went to the
(41:24):
award ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful and
I got to meet some of the most amazing people.
I met Millie, I met Isaac, so many different people.
Kirk, everyone who gets involvedand, you know, is always
ensuring that the students are being well taken care of.
That was very special to me. And I also got to meet my
(41:47):
mentor, Ali Butler. Massive shout out to Ali Butler.
She is the most beautiful, amazing human being and has been
my absolute support system from day one.
When I met her, you know, I was very anxious, you know, leading
up to meeting my mentor, I was thinking, you know, I want to
(42:07):
make a good impression, you know, and I'm very social
person, but sometimes meeting new people can be scary.
And we just clicked like that. And so we catch up often.
And, you know, she's she gets tosee me pursue my studies and
she's pursuing her own studies. So we support each other.
(42:28):
Not through God, but yeah, having the mentor support was
one of the most fundamental things for me.
It's kind of like having a parent when you don't have
parents, you know, you have someone to guide you through
that process. Having an older sister, even
she's like an older sister, and just having someone there to
(42:49):
say, you know, you're doing so well, I'm backing you.
I'm here all the way, so having a mentor was really important.
And the financial side of it, you know, scholarship is able to
ensure that I can afford to go to uni.
I'm not going to leave with this$30,000 debt that a lot of
people see. And it motivated me definitely
(43:12):
to get that, you know, to get good grades in my last year,
yeah. Yeah, and and I want to do and
and this is where I say, you know the story.
I mean, life is a roller coasterand this is the roller coaster
where you ride it. But but but the ride only
becomes easier because the people that support you.
So shout out to the team at Green at Green by for pointing
you out and say, Hey, this is anopportunity.
(43:34):
And a shout out to the crew at First Foundation, you know,
Isaac and Kirk and the crew for senior application.
And also shout out to Ellie Butler for, you know, being a
mentor. I think it's important for us to
shout out people because as you said before, you know, when
there's no, and this is for anybody, when there's no support
before pretty quickly and when they support, whatever the
support, you can see what happens.
Your your life changes quite dramatically.
(43:55):
Definitely 100% if it wasn't forthose people backing me.
And I often find this, the people who, you know, kind of
hide in the shadows and do the most of the work and not, you
know, take any recognition for it.
They're just happy working, pottering along, you know,
helping as many people as they can.
And I think a lot of those people don't get the recognized
(44:17):
enough. And it is something that I
aspire to be like them. They're definitely my role
models. So, yeah, I think it is very
powerful and very impactful to see so many people care when
sometimes it feels like the world is against you.
You get to actually see that. No, there are people out there
(44:39):
who want to see you succeed, want to see you go to
university. And that was the the biggest,
you know, life changer for me completely.
And yeah, so now I'm in my firstyear at AUT and it is going
amazing for me. I've got really good grades so
far, I'm in the last stretch, I've got about 6 more
(45:01):
assignments to do and then I am on summer holidays.
But I am so glad that I picked this degree and communications
at AUT is absolutely fantastic course.
If anyone wants to do communications watching this, I
definitely recommend AUT. The lecturers as well are some
of the most amazing, sweet, caring, kind people.
(45:25):
And I, you know, just the whole AOT atmosphere, I couldn't
imagine being anywhere else. When the article came out, I had
so many people come up to me andlectures and they said I read
your article. Wow.
Like I wouldn't have expected this from you.
You know, this life. And it's like, again, that whole
(45:46):
point of it can happen to anybody and anybody can come out
of it succeeding. You know, just because you're
homeless now doesn't mean you don't have a future.
And so it was very important forme to receive that positive
feedback from my school, from AUT, from my mentor and the
(46:10):
people at First Foundation. That is the wrap around support
that young people from Attahi need.
And yeah, and I want to ask you this question here.
What does it feel like for you to Share your story?
And I asked this because in the context of what you've gone
through to sharing into a a medium that is read by millions
of people around around around the world essentially.
(46:32):
Yeah, it was so empowering to meto kind of get my story back to
being my story for so many years.
Especially. I know a lot of people will
understand this feeling when they have gone through
households that do not respect them or like to hear their
voice. Growing up, for me, it was
(46:54):
always children should be seen, not heard.
That was a massive saying growing up.
So being able to reclaim my story and be able to tell it the
way that it is in my life, it was so impactful.
And so just wow, like, I don't have words.
(47:14):
You know, my whole life I was told not to talk about these
things, you know, not to acknowledge the suffering I had
been through. You know, think about, think
about the people in your life, think about your family, think
about all these aspects. And it was like, well, what
about me? Can't I think about myself?
You know, I don't. I have a story that people can
(47:37):
learn from. And, you know, maybe it will
help them someday. And so when I got the call from
Isaac saying, hey, a lady from Stephen's head wants to
interview you. She wants to Share your story.
It was the first time in my lifewhere I really felt like people
(48:00):
were going to finally hear me. And, and I love, and I love that
because as you said before, you know, too many times a lot of us
live our world telling other people stories.
And we all have our stories to share, you know, whatever the
story is. And, and a lot of times we, we
either talk ourselves out of it because our story is not good
(48:22):
enough, you know, or people tellus not to tell our story because
it's not good enough for them. And I love the fact that you've
owned it and you're telling the story, your story, which is
beautiful. Thank you.
Yeah. Yeah, I know You have to.
You have to head away soon. Yeah, yes.
But then thank you so much for this.
(48:44):
And yeah, like I said earlier, having this platform, an amazing
podcast to give people the voice, be able to speak about
these things. And I just think that my main
take away for the people listening is that, you know,
anybody in your life, anybody inanyone's life can, you know, be
(49:06):
homeless, suffer in imaginable way.
(49:36):
Kiara, thank you for sharing a lot.
And we have a tradition in our in our podcast, it's called
Baskets of knowledge. In every episode we record, we
invite our guests to share a piece of knowledge to put into
our baskets. Would love your your knowledge
to put into our baskets. Yes, I think my knowledge for
this episode, for listeners to take away is just know that, you
(49:59):
know, anybody in your life can be homeless.
Anybody in your life can suffer financial hardship, you know,
even if they don't share it. You know, there is such
embarrassment and shame and stigma in this country and we
need to break down those walls, You know, to be a Kiwi, to be an
Altaroa is to be connected to other people, you know, and to
(50:23):
have the money to know where youcome from and your place in this
world. And that should not be stopped
by prevention of, you know, human rights.
You know, everybody, no matter what path they come from in
life, should be given an opportunity always.
(50:45):
And I think it is very beautifulto see people in the community,
organizations in the community, trying their best to help,
especially young people and the most vulnerable people in our
society get back to a place thatis good, you know, get back to
safety and security. But it is not enough.
(51:08):
We need more people to be stepping up, to be doing the
hard work, you know, had Mahi tobe putting their hand up even in
situations where they don't wantto be in saying, hey, I want to
put a foot forward and I want tohelp someone else and help make
their life better. And if you have the opportunity,
(51:31):
next time you're walking down the street and you see somebody
who is not doing well, you see someone who is homeless or maybe
just going through a rough time,just take a minute of your day,
just one minute even to ask, areyou doing OK?
What a what a beautiful, beautiful take away there.
You know, in any one of us can do this wherever you are in the
(51:52):
world and you're listening, if you see someone that is, you
know, they're actually be homeless.
They can just obviously see thatsomeone's in distress.
You can ask them, are you doing OK or how can I help you or can
I help you today, which is really beautiful.
What a great, what a great, great way to in today's podcast,
Kiara, I mean, we've only touched the surface of your
story and one hour is not enough.
(52:13):
I think we can go deep and deep and deep, but it is Friday and
you've got things to do. I want to acknowledge you for
sharing your story, for going, for going to places that may
have been emotionally strong foryou.
But I know I've learnt a lot. And then our listeners have
learnt a lot and had a differentperspective.
When you look at people, you know, it's just about people.
People are people. So thank you for sharing that
(52:35):
today with us. Any last words before I say
thank you to you? Yeah, I just want to say massive
thank you to all the people who stuck around to listen to my
story and have sent amazing messages to me about the Stuff
article or even just been inspired by it, you know, been
inspired to go out and help morein the community.
(52:58):
And yeah, also thank you to thisamazing podcast for having me
on. It has been a great privilege to
be able to share my story here. It's a great privilege to have
you on here, so thank you so much for all listeners out
there. Hopefully you have listened in
to this podcast so that you've leaned in and just thought about
where you sit and where you think about yourself when you
(53:20):
see people that are homeless andyour own question.
As Kiara said, you're more likely to be homeless than to be
a millionaire. And let this sit with you.
And if you have fallen asleep during the podcast that is on
you, go back and have a listen again because it's pretty
fascinating. Till next time, to everyone out
there, don't forget to find a reason to smile.
Don't forget to put something inyour boss of knowledge.
And as Kiara said, don't forget to ask people how can help you
(53:44):
or are you doing OK? Till next time, take care
calculated. Bye everybody.
Peace. Thank you for listening to
Bastards of Knowledge. Yeah, we hope that you found
something useful to put into your bastard knowledge.
And as we said before, remember to put something little into
(54:04):
your baskets of knowledge every week.
And as always, feel free to like, comment and share this
podcast. Thanks, everybody.
Bye.
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