The rangatahi of Kick Back, a Youth Development organization responding to Youth Homelessness, alongside System’s Change Aotearoa and Public Housing Futures is calling on the community to show up in solidarity with tamaraki and rangatahi experiencing homelessness.

With youth homelessness escalating across the country, and little to no action from our Government in response to our young people’s suffering, Kick Back's rangatahi have organized a vigil to acknowledge the suffering of our rangatahi experiencing homelessness and to call for immediate action to end this crisis. Our rangatahi want to send a message, though the Government may be ignoring the suffering of our kids, we have not forgotten them, we see them, we are fighting for them.

Our rangatahi are calling on the community to join us this Wednesday on 29th October, 2025 at 7.30pm on K’rd in Tamaki, for a Hikoi and Vigil for our Unhoused Rangatahi.

The Vigil to House our Youth is about acknowledging the mamae of those who have suffered the indignity of homelessness. This vigil is about remembering our Tamariki and rangatahi, about acknowledging those we have lost to the streets, those who have suffered, and those who continue to suffer, due to our collective failure to ensure all our Tamariki and rangatahi can access their basic right to housing.

This Vigil has been birthed from our rangatahi’s growing frustration and anger at our Government’s lack of action in responding to Youth Homelessness. As the homelessness crisis has escalated across the country our Government has failed to adequately respond to our young people’s needs.

Instead the Government has made Emergency Housing more difficult to access, cut millions in funding to youth housing services, increased people’s risk of homelessness by making the welfare system more punitive, stalled and stopped Public Housing build projects, and gutted the Homelessness Action Plan.

Youth Homelessness is a problem we can solve. However, if we are going to end this injustice, we must begin making different political decisions. Decision’s that put manaaki and aroha for our children at the centre.

Our rangatahi Rangatira are calling on their community to join us, to stand in solidarity with our rangatahi, to acknowledge the suffering our rangatahi have endured, and to send a message, loud and clear. Our Government may have closed their eye’s to our rangatahi, but we have not.

Join us as we remember and stand with our tamariki and rangatahi in calling on the Government to reverse their Emergency Housing changes, implement #Duty2Assist legislation and commit to continuing to build Public Housing in order #HouseThePeople and #EndYouthHomelessness!

We'll be gathering at The Front Door and then travelling down to Aotea Square where there will be kōrero and an acknowledgement of those we have lost to youth homelessness and those who continue to suffer as a result of this injustice.

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