Nelson Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
tuesday 8 August 2017
Baby gear up for grabs
page 8
Central city sleepers on the rise Brittany Spencer Reporter
reporter@nelsonlive.co.nz
Karen Targett is 52-yearsold, partially deaf and lives on Trafalgar St, not in one of the buildings or homes, but on the pavement in front of Farmers. Karen, who goes by her middle name “Janine”, is one of several homeless people now living on the main street. It is an issue that Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese is calling an “escalating situation” that is “testing Nelsonians’ patience”. After living in a mental health unit, and then Franklyn Village before being asked to leave, Janine now finds herself sleeping on a mattress out in the cold, surrounded by her few possessions. “I’m on the street but I have food in my tummy and that is a lot.” Janine is on a living support benefit and received $275.79 in her bank account last week.
your pet
page 26
Herrie’s home made star gazer
“When you look at that amount you think ‘wow, that’s a lot’, but when you’re renting, the cheapest place is about $150 per week, you take that away and you’ve still got to pay for food, transport costs, washing, and then if you want to have a smoke or a bit of a social life, well, I don’t think you’ll manage much.” Janine says Nelsonians are mostly kind and some take the time to sit down and have a written conversation with her. “The people walking by are not too bad, a couple of people have given me money and I’ve put it all to good use, I’ve gotten myself something to eat and I’ve bought tights, socks and gloves.” Janine says she does get verbal abuse hurled her way but she ignores it. “A lot of people will say something rude but if they can’t be bothered to write it down then I can’t hear them, so it doesn’t matter.”
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young stars get the call up
Herrie ten Oever with his newly created Dobsonian telescope that can see 100 million light years away. Full story on page 4. Photo: Charles Anderson
SEE PAGE 2
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