Haiku for the hidden homeless

Auckland’s Housing Call to Action group has chosen to highlight the plight of “the hidden homeless” during Spotlight on Housing week from 5 - 10 October 2015 by launching a poetry competition this week.

Spotlight on Housing 2015 Poetry Competition
Write a HAIKU poem based on the Spotlight on Housing 2015 theme “The hidden homeless” and illustrate it with an image.
To enter: Post both the image and the poem onto the Housing Call to Action Facebook page facebook.com/housingcalltoaction
Tag it using the hashtag #thehiddenhomeless and email it with your age and contact details to hiddenhomelessnz@gmail.com
Note: The image must be in JPG format and be less than 500kb file size.

Haiku ( high-koo) are short poems (3 lines long) that use sensory language to capture a feeling or image. They are often inspired by an element of nature, a moment of beauty or a poignant experience. The first and last lines of the poem must have 5 syllables and the middle line must have 7 syllables. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets, and the form was adapted to English and other languages by poets in other countries.
Advice on how to write a Haiku poem can be found here: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem

Categories:
Age 10 and under – 1st prize: $50 Paper Plus voucher
Age 11-16 – 1st prize: $50 Paper Plus voucher
Age 17 up and adult – 1st prize: Dinner for 2 at Tony’s Henderson ($70 voucher for 2x $35 3-course special)
Supreme Prize (1 winner will be judged across all categories) – 2 night’s accommodation in an Auckland Council Regional Park Bach.

The supreme prize has been kindly provided by Auckland Council Regional Parks who care for the wonderful Auckland Regional Parks environment that we all enjoy. These unique holiday baches are available all year around to book at affordable holiday prices – check out the website http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/bookable-sites/Bach

The competition opens on Monday 21 September and runs until midnight Saturday 10 October 2015 and the judge will be published poet, writer, teacher and retired Family Court Judge John Adams.

The winner will be notified by email. No correspondence will be entered into. All entries remain the property of The Housing Call to Action and may be used for promotional purposes.

Spotlight on Housing week comprises a series of events, activities and competitions with the aim of raising the profile of housing and homelessness as important issues for New Zealand society. Events and activities for Spotlight on Housing week can be found on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/housingcalltoaction and start from 21 September. These include story gathering displays in public libraries around West Auckland where people can anonymously share information about the situation in which they are living and what housing means for them.

The hidden homeless are those people living in cars, in garages, sleep-outs, couch surfing or in overcrowded homes, often with several families sharing a dwelling. Recent census data suggest there could be up to 20,000 people living in these conditions currently in Auckland.

ENDS

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