When Peter came to Auckland City Mission - Te Tāpui Atawhai, he was living in his car, unwell, and carrying a lifetime of hurt, anger and instability. With the Mission’s support - and through his own determination - Peter found more than a place to live. He found healing, connection and a sense of purpose, one that is rippling out to his family and the street whānau he supports.
For most of his life, Peter never truly felt at home. The youngest child in a large family, he spent much of his childhood living with extended family. Then, while he was still young, both of his parents passed away, losses that would shape the course of his life.
“My father died when I was 14, and then my mother passed away a few years later. I didn’t really deal with it.” Peter says. “I went off track - hanging out with gang members. I became an alcoholic, drug user, an angry person, in a toxic relationship.”
For most of his adult life, Peter worked as a long-distance truck driver. While the work meant he could support his partner and children, it meant he was always on the road, away from the family home. The constant absence took its toll, and his relationships eventually broke down.
His life became defined by cycles of instability, betrayal, anger and substance use. “I was broken,” says Peter. “I was hurting.”
The turning point came when Peter became seriously unwell. Alone, far from his children and grandchildren, he thought he was going to die. “I got to a point where I thought I was goner,” he says. “And if I had passed away at that point, I realised nobody would've found me for two to three weeks because I didn't know anybody in that place. That gave me a big, big scare.”
“That’s what brought me back to Auckland. I knew needed to be around my children.”
Peter was hospitalised with pneumonia and a heart condition. After being discharged, he stayed with family members for as long as he could, before eventually finding himself with nowhere left to go. For the next nine months, he lived in his car in central Auckland.
“I was living in a little [Suzuki] Swift. It was uncomfortable, but you do what you have to do in order to get by.”
“It was pretty cold and wet at times. I had blankets, but sometimes I'd wake up in the night because it was so cold, and I’d have to run the car just to warm up.”
Peter found a parking spot covered by security cameras, so he could feel a little safer, but the strain of living in his car took a heavy toll: “My stress levels were through the roof.” His physical and mental health deteriorated.
It was during this time that Peter turned to the Mission for help.
He began coming to Haeata, our community dining room, for freshly cooked, nutritious kai.
He also started going to the Calder Health Centre, where he received the ongoing medical care he needed for his heart condition. When the Nurse Practitioner learned that he was living in his car, she immediately referred him to one of our Street to Home keyworkers. “For my health, she could see I needed to get out of the car and be housed, so I could heal,” Peter says.
With the support of his keyworker, Peter found an apartment of his own. The day he moved into his new home was life changing.
“I felt so blessed to have my own place. I was over the moon. It gave me safety and freedom. It gave me back my independence.”
“My apartment has been so much more than a roof over my head. It’s given me a new start in life, a place of stability and healing.”
With a stable home, Peter finally had the foundation he needed to focus on his health and recovery. Today, Peter’s health has significantly improved. He can manage what he eats, he’s stopped using drugs and alcohol, and he exercises regularly.
But the impact of having a home - and the Mission’s wraparound support - has gone far beyond his physical wellbeing. With support from the Mission, Peter began to heal spiritually and emotionally, and come to terms with the anger and hurt of his past.
“I had a consistent weekly catch up with my keyworker,” Peter says. "I was able to share my whole life, everything that was going on. She reminded me of a big sister, one that clips you around the ears when you need it!”
“She helped open doors for me. I could do Romiromi (Māori massage therapy) at the Mission and see the Mental Health Nurse.”
Peter also began attending Mana Tāne, a weekly men’s support group at HomeGround. “That helped me get things off my mind and reconnect with my cultural identity, which had been missing from my life” he says.
Weekly waiata (singing) sessions at HomeGround became another source of healing – and an unexpected bridge back to his wider family.
“Coming to waiata, it’s my happy space, it makes me calm. And the waiata I learned here helped me reconnect with my whānau.”
“I never used to go home, and so a lot of my relatives didn’t like me. But when my namesake recently passed away, I went home for his tangi. When it was time for waiata, we were all singing together and it connected us as one. All that raruraru (conflict) was gone, because we were singing in unison.”
“Whenever I learn a new song here, I’m able to share it with my grandchildren. It’s a beautiful thing, a connection of love.”
Now, Peter is supporting others on their journeys through homelessness and hardship.
A Mission staff member noticed the calm, grounding presence role Peter had among the street whānau (people experiencing homelessness) coming into HomeGround, and a seed was planted. When a job came up at the Mission as a Peer Support Worker, Peter’s keyworker encouraged him to apply and supported him through the process.
“She sat me down, helped put my resume together and fill out the application.”
As a Peer Support Worker, Peter used his lived experience and connections in the street community to support whānau coming into Haeata, helping them feel seen and cared for, and guiding them to the support services available through the Mission.
He’s now bringing his experience to another role at the Mission, taking people out on the Street Guardians programme. The programme provides paid opportunities for street whānau to work on local environmental projects.
“They can earn dollars to buy what they need, but it's also about learning new skills, and reintegrating back into work.”
“A lot of the mahi (work) involves getting your hands in the earth, being one with Papatūānuku. Gardening, caring for rivers and streams, bringing life to our native plants. So it helps wairua (spiritual) and mental healing too.”
Peter’s experiences have also had a powerful ripple effect within his own family.
“When I had my job interview here, I said it would change my life and change my family's life - and it has,” he says.
“My children were chronic users, but my journey with the Mission triggered something. It had to start with me. Now my oldest daughter is in rehab and my youngest daughter and her partner are 62 days clean.”
“This year, our family had a drug-free, alcohol-free Christmas for the first time. I'm a proud man and a proud parent. We’re breaking the cycle.”
“I’m so grateful to the Mission,” Peter says. “The services here helped me get to that deep, deep place so I could heal. I'm in an awesome place today.”