Kiwis are horrified by a video circulating online which shows two young people harassing and throwing things at a homeless person in Auckland.
The video, which is being shared on social media, is believed to have been taken in the early hours of Saturday, January 22, in the central city.
In the footage, a person can be seen getting out of a car and throwing something at someone who is trying to sleep in a bus stop.
Another person then gets out of the car and throws something else at the person. The person remains in the bus stop while the food is thrown at them.
Newshub was sent the video by several concerned citizens. One person said the video was horrifying and people needed to know it wasn't okay.
"These people… already have hard enough lives as it is without having food and drink thrown on them by people jumping out of cars and running up to them while they sleep in bus stops!" they said.
"These victims have nowhere to shower, or wash up after being assaulted, they have no one to turn to, they have no way to keep warm at night after being soaked with drink!"
Another person said the footage was "absolutely disgusting" and "horrid".
It comes as the number of people waiting for public housing has shot up in recent years to an estimated 23,687 households.
Estimates based on 2018 Census data found 102,123 people are "severely housing deprived" - 2.2 percent of the population. And nearly half of those people are under 25.
The figures include the estimated 41,724 people living without shelter, in temporary accommodation or sharing accommodation and 60,399 who live in "uninhabitable housing".
And the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities with demand for food banks spiking.
Last year Auckland City Mission said demand for food parcels was four times higher than at the start of 2020.
"I'm really genuinely concerned because the sustained need that we see now is four times what we were seeing in February [2020]," Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson told RNZ.
Police have been contacted for comment.
