Recently I made my way back home to Auckland, New Zealand and noticed everything had changed.
In the suburb I use to spend a lot of my time in, Mount Wellington, I noticed state family homes were gone, many construction sites and new cramped houses being built with no backyards.
Every day, wardens in the area clothed in bright vests were door knocking to evaluate state properties and breaking the news of eviction to families. Consequences lead to families falling into the gap of transitioning from one home to another. If unsuccessful, they are forced to live with family members, garages and cars.
It was upsetting, scary and unbelievable to witness how common homelessness is in New Zealand.
Even more scarier that working families still do not earn enough to cover rent and living expenses, families are losing their children to social services and realising how unaffordable living there really is.
I took away the importance of buying a house which is now impossible in a place like Auckland as the housing market continues to rise.
My home is over crowded and grey. I was confronted by the truth with my own eyes of what is really happening in Auckland.
Stability is hard to obtain and a positive mindset is hard to keep through immense pressures.
This short experience is what has driven me to cover this as my data journalism story, to explain and show the reality of what my home has now become.
Data video story here:
