Social media influencer Robb ‘Shogun’ Howe spent 48 hours living rough on the streets of central Auckland as part of a self-led ‘homeless experiment’ inspired by his own past experiences, with his Facebook livestreams drawing over 100,000 views.

Howe and his friend and fellow influencer Sonny Jim took to the streets with only the clothes on their backs and devices to record their experience.

Howe says he wanted to highlight the struggles of people living in uncertain conditions on the street.

“I just wanted to come back onto the street to acknowledge our less fortunate, I like to call them our less fortunate, not our homeless - our street whānau.”

Both have faced homelessness before, with Howe highlighting addiction and mental health as major contributing factors for those living on the streets.

“My daughter was two months old and we were homeless, living on the streets of Auckland after losing my sister to cancer,” he recalls.

“My parents and my siblings had actually turned their back on us at the time due to me going through things like addiction - I was addicted to meth at the time. And my behaviour was quite toxic.”

Ngā pūtake o te noho kāinga kore

According to the 2023 Census, more than 100,000 people were experiencing severe housing deprivation nationwide, with more than 600 individuals reported to be sleeping rough in Tāmaki Makaurau as of January 2025.

Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson says homelessness often stems from massive whānau breakdowns, the impact of trauma, violence, and even the impact of colonisation.

“When land resources are stripped from the people, there is very obvious and direct consequences,” she says, emphasising the Mission’s commitment to honor Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the need for meaningful, systemic change.

“The impact of violence in the home is one of those key drivers at a really big picture level. Not enough money and the impact of trauma.”

Te pānga o te tahua pūtea ki te hunga kāinga kore

This year’s Budget included a $15 million boost for community food banks nationwide — support that could help those experiencing homelessness.

While Robinson expresses her gratitude for the funding, she says it falls short of meeting the growing need.

“There is a plea that actually, we could be doing a lot more if we could get more support from government.”

At the same time, youth transitional housing will face a $20 million cut — a move Robinson says will significantly affect those relying on this support, particularly with winter approaching.

“Winter is an incredibly difficult time for people for people who don’t have a home. People get cold, people get wet, people get sick.”

“We also know that until people can get access to those affordable houses, we need truly accessible emergency housing and transitional housing.”

He aha te wāhanga ki te iwi tūmatanui?

Reflecting on his time on the streets, Howe says safety is a major concern, especially for vulnerable groups.

“Especially for our young kōtiro, our young wāhine.”

He recalls the fear and exhaustion many face,

“A lot of them were fearful — lack of sleep, a lot of fatigue — [because] they don’t have the luxury of good sleep due to safety concerns, addiction concerns,“ he adds.

“There were times there where we were fearful for ourselves.”

Asked about the biggest revelation from his 48 hours on the street, Howe says he was struck by the public’s lack of empathy.

“I just couldn’t believe that people could just walk past someone without having a care in the world, and all I was asking for was money to get a hot meal.”

“I just think there could be more compassion. It costs nothing to be kind to others, and it can have such a big impact.”