Speaking up about life in a tent

It’s a sunny morning at the Tahuna Beach Holiday Park and Nelson man Marty Ruhe is once again packing up the tent he has called home for the past four years.

For the 52-year-old, the campground is his main residence, but with a 28-day maximum stay, it’s time to break camp and find somewhere else to pitch the tent until he can return.

Despite working full-time in logistics, Marty has “given up” looking for a permanent home.

“I have been there and don’t waste my time anymore, I did that for years. Even when I had my son with me there was no chance. I couldn’t get anything,” he says.

“Work and income, MSD, Habitat for Humanity, the housing trust, the council - I have been to all of them.”

Despite having everything he needs, he describes campground life as “lonely”.

“Loneliness is a powerful enemy. I’ve had trouble with stress, anxiety, and depression.”

Marty has also spent time at a campground in The Brook where he slept in his tent all last winter.

He says he’s not alone and knows “dozens” of men in Nelson who are in the same situation.

“The males don’t speak up and I’m sick of it. There are too many of us. One thing I feel that’s against us is our gender, from my experience.”

He says he feels like he has been put at the “bottom on the heap”.

“Absolutely, and it’s not just me. I talk to these guys, and we get to know each other. We didn’t choose this life.

“Just observing how they become very aggressive, I’m grateful that I haven’t allowed myself to become like that, but I also thank my job for it too. I have a supportive team. These other guys don’t have that, and I’ve watched them go downhill.”

Marty says people think his way of living is affordable.

“But it’s not cheap at all, because if something happens, I’ve got to replace it.”

It costs him just under $200 a week in campground fees, but last year alone he went through $2000 worth of tents.

“Then there is my car, which I have stripped out so I can lay my head. It is my emergency backup, but I can’t just park up anywhere.”

Marty is one of many men living without a roof over their heads in Nelson, with The Male Room manager Louis Chapman saying it’s a growing problem.

“Absolutely, and I guarantee there is more out there than I know of.”

The organisation has also become a safe space for the city’s homeless, with their day shelter, Whare Haumanu, opening last year.

“We are seeing 30 to 40 men through the shelter each day and I know of around eight who are living in bushes or on the street.”

Even men who have the money for a house aren’t guaranteed a home, he says.

“At the moment it’s a shared room in a backpackers. It’s one thing to get on the housing register, but if you’re a single male it’s difficult unless you’ve got complex needs.”

Meanwhile, Marty will find somewhere to go for the night before he can rebook at the campground for another 28 days.

“It’s the only place I’ve got left. I’d like a solid roof over my head and not have to worry about where I’m going to go next.”