Barber shop owner Fred McKay could not handle hearing the stories of struggling families or seeing people living in rough conditions.
"It is not fair.
"Food and shelter are something that every human being should have.
"But, unfortunately, many people don’t have that and struggle to find their feet for the most different reasons."
Mr McKay said in the past couple of years, especially after he moved and opened his business Hair Mechanic, in South City, he had noticed an increase in homeless people in the city.
"I couldn’t do nothing.
"That is not part of who I am.
"My children are grown-ups and have their own life ... I thought I could help those people with a place they can stay safely."
After about one year, Mr McKay now had 10 women living in his property.
The all-female house was to create an environment where they could feel safe, he said.
He had tried to mix it up in the past but noticed it triggered some fragilities.
He was emotional speaking about their experiences.
"Everybody needs help and if you get a chance — just one chance — sometimes it’s enough to change you.
"The girls that are in my place either want to better themselves or they want a place they could rebuild themselves and leave."
A couple of weeks ago, he found a man living in the toilet behind his barber shop.
He was now lending him his van so he could have a better place to sleep.
"If you can make someone else happy or, you know, see the life of those families and kids changing, you can’t get any better feeling."
Southland Community Housing Group member Margaret Cook said the situation with homelessness was concerning.
"It is a complex issue but we’re not supposed to have homeless people because we’re such a small economy.
"But it’s there.
"You can see people coming out of Queens Park first thing in the morning, and the other day I was chatting with a fellow down south who lived in a tent in Kew Bush.
"It is very sad."
Mrs Cook said plans on the drawing board included a night shelter which could offer a hot meal each night, or a shelter like the Christchurch City Mission which would involve the creation of a tiny house/caravan settlement for single males, with communal ablution blocks, laundry and kitchen.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark said the situation was a big concern for him.
It was hard to know how many people there were living in the city without a home, but he believed there was between 20 and 50.
