Below are three stories of young women and their journeys in and out of homelessness. Thank you to these women (all names have been changed) for being brave enough to share with the community their amazing resilience and strength. Please read:
- Nisha’s Story (a young woman originally from Liberia who first accessed support with Othila’s when she was pregnant
- Jessica’s Story (a young woman from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background who is parenting 4 children and first accessed Othila’s support after the birth of her third child); and
- Emily’s Story (a young woman who’s experience of homelessness in Brisbane began at a very young age)
Nisha’s Story
My story begins in my homeland of Liberia in Africa where I grew up with my grandparents who until my teenage years was told were my biological parents although I always sensed this was not right. When I was 14 years old I was sent to live with my uncle and his family where there was a daily battle for food.
One day my cousin said I was a bastard saying that I have no parents and who I thought to be my parents are actually my grandparents. I remember being in shock and feeling so emotional I could not eat with my uncle sharing my history with me as a result. I was told that my mother died giving birth to me and that my biological father was alive in Guinea in Africa and that he was looking for me and at age 16 went to live with him and his wife and their children. Up until this point I was a practicing Christian but converted to Muslim as is cultural tradition to follow father’s religion.
When I was 17 years old I arrived in Australia with my father, step-mother and step-siblings as refugees. I went on to make friends whom were Christians and was told by my father to leave the house for socializing with non-Muslims. I could not understand this as I thought it does not matter what religion people are or whether they are black are white, people are people. However I was forced to leave home with my father leaving my step-mother shortly after.
I went to live with a friend but found it to be an unsafe environment but had nowhere else to go. During this time I went out with my friend to a party and was sexually assaulted resulting in becoming pregnant. I became very ill, resulting in being hospitalized, where I had no one visit. When I returned to my friend’s house a neighbor informed me my friend had left and did not want any trouble and had packed up my belongings and left them in the garage. I had nowhere to go so I contacted my step-mother hoping to reconnect; she said I could live with her and my step siblings as well as two other young women residing there. Originally I was allowed to stay in the spare room but upon telling my step-mother I was pregnant, I was hit and told I had to live in the garage which was cold and open and did not lock.
Being Muslim and a single, pregnant woman resulted in being isolated and shunned by family and community. I was so scared and did not know what to expect with having a baby and felt I had nobody to guide and help me as my step-mother refused to talk to me. My step-mother told me I could stay in the garage but was not to enter the house and had to hand the majority of my Centrelink income to her. I remember at 5.00am each morning I would take a bucket and wash myself in the backyard under the hose so not to wake anyone- I remember feeling so scared, emotional, confused and lost and wandering what would become of me and my baby.
One day a worker from a support agency came to see the two young women residing in the house and as nobody was home the worker found me in the garage and said she had wandered where I was living and what happened to me. I was so emotional and shared my story and was told I should be having ante-natal care and support during my pregnancy and was referred to Othila’s. Around this time I had an argument with my step-mother and returned home to find all of my belongings were broken and had been put out in the rain. I remember finding my unborn baby’s scans all wet and ruined from the rain and at this point felt all hope was lost and just cried and cried as I would look at my baby’s scan pictures when feeling sad and alone. My step-mother told me to get out and hit me and when my step-sister begged her mother to let me stay she was hit.
I remember I was wet from walking in the rain to catch a bus to Othila’s and ran in to a friend I went to high school with. She said I could stay at her place short term but said she was afraid of property owners finding out I was there and was told to leave the house at 5.00am and return at 8.00pm in the evening so no one would see me.
I was five months pregnant and was tired, scared and weak and would spend the days walking from one park to another park, library to library, bus stop to bus stop and remember thinking how I had cried every single day so far of my pregnancy. I was so worried about my baby, and being safe and finding a place to live and realized that my problems were bigger than me.
This is where Othila’s was able to help me by assisting me to go on a range of housing waitlists, assisted with Centrelink matters, ante-natal care, grief and loss and above all offered me emotional support and ‘hope’- I really think I couldn’t have made it without this help. At that time of crisis I was in daily contact with Othila’s and remember the day I received a call from Othila’s offering me housing in their supported accommodation. I was so speechless and emotional – I couldn’t believe it and just cried.
I considered my Othila’s accommodation to not be just a house but to be a home and each time I went to Othila’s space I considered it to be my second home. I continued engaging in regular support during my Othila’s accommodation and remember Othila’s taking me to hospital when I went in to labour resulting in the birth of my beautiful son. I remember when he was born the midwife asking me how I was and I remember I could hear her but could not answer as I was looking in to my baby’s eyes and reflecting over my journey from when I became pregnant and was in crisis to my life to date. I reflected how with housing and support, I was able to feel happy about myself again and considered how much my self confidence had grown and that I had a safe home to return to with my baby. I remember thinking how I felt abandoned and left out in the cold by my family and that it was such a relief to have Othila’s to talk to and turn to and that my problems were bigger than I could handle on my own. I remember thinking my commitment now is to being a good mum and adoring and loving my baby each day of his life and enjoying playing together and just looking at each other and smiling.
I continued to stay in Othila’s accommodation with regular support around parenting and other identified needs and recently exited in to long term public housing where my son and I are very happy- I have never felt so safe, secure and independent. Othila’s has continued to offer external support to ensure I can successfully sustain my tenancy.
Othila’s recently linked me in with a program called Participate in Prosperity and they are assisting me to reach my goal of studying nursing with a long term goal of returning to Africa to assist the many who are in extreme medical need.
One year ago I could not have imagined I would be where I am today and want to thank Othila’s for walking beside me through a very painful journey where I have learnt so much about myself and that I am special and can be whatever I want to be.
Jessica’s Story
‘Jessica’ is from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and arrived in Australia from Africa as a refugee. Many years before arriving in Australia on a humanitarian refugee visa, Jessica’s parents were killed in the war in Africa when she was only 10 years old . She was then separated from her sister whilst fleeing in the war resulting in Jessica being displaced from her home and being placed in a refugee camp for 10 years, trying to cope with the grief and loss of her family and the experience of witnessing the horrors of war. These experiences resulted in an enormous amount of trauma being experienced with ongoing and long lasting effects.
She first accessed Othila’s facing homelessness, not just herself, but with her children. When she first contacted Othila’s she had just given birth to her third child, referring to us from the maternity hospital and facing the prospect of being homeless with her newborn baby and her two children, potentially having no option but the street. Othila’s was able to offer the young woman temporary transitional housing in one of our properties.
While being housed with Othila’s Jessica engaged in support with a Support and Sustaining Tenancies Worker. This support journey is based in developing a strong and trusting case management relationship, that offered assistance with walking alongside the young woman to exploring and guide the development of independent living skills, parenting support, linkages with relevant health care providers (both to assist overcoming the experience of trauma but also for a significant back injury which occurred during the war), assistance with child support and Centrelink matters and emotional support and counselling. Alongside her Othila’s worker, Jessica sourced a range of supports, who worked from a culturally appropriate place, to help begin to get everything ‘back on track’.
However, with the impending thought of potential homelessness, exacerbated anxiety for the young woman and increased her risk of depression, at times becoming debilitating.
Jessica then discovered she was pregnant again. Othila’s housing, while adequate for 3 children, was too small for another child. Like any woman who is pregnant, knowing where you are going to live during and after pregnancy is crucial to feeling safe and secure. The stress of uncertainty was taking its toll.
However Jessica is a resilient young woman. With intensive and consistent advocacy to Department of Housing (this process took over 12 months) Jessica was housed by the Department of Housing (which means long term housing) two days before she delivered her fourth baby. The house is near support networks, children’s school and meets young woman’s medical needs.
Othila’s (from her Support and Sustaining Tenancies Worker to the entire team) are so pleased for Jessica and were humbled to walk alongside Jessica towards independence. It is delightful to see Jessica’s family settled and able to continue on like any other family in our community. Best of luck Jessica!
Emily’s Story
I first encountered homelessness after being kicked out of my mum’s home at age eleven. I didn’t know where to go or who to ask about finding a place to live. I found a shelter in the phone book but wasn’t able to access their service because I was too young and the Department of Child Safety said I had other options and refused to place me. I ended up sleeping in the local park and couch surfing for a period of time before going home and being kicked out again.
Throughout my teenage years, even though I was under the care and protection of Child Safety, I faced homelessness numerous times, living on the streets, sleeping at friends’ places and staying in the majority of shelters in the Brisbane and Ipswich areas.
With all the instability in housing my education, friendships, mental health, community connections and income were all effected which contributed to losing accommodation or not being eligible for support.
Without a regular income, housing options became very limited, at times leaving me with no other option but to sleep with men for a place to stay. In the shelters I met some people, who introduced me to groups of other young people living on the street so that if I ever returned I could connect with them and be protected, the theory being ‘protected in numbers’…
When I did return to the streets the people I met welcomed me, but it was at a cost; I had to steal for the group, any money I had was spent on drugs and alcohol and food was scarce. My days consisted of surviving, living in the moment without any future plans or goals and doing everything I could to remain safe. I was moving further away from who I wanted to be and what I wanted in life and became miserable. Life became very complicated, and other issues presented all stemming from a lack of support and unstable housing.
Turning 18 bought even more barriers to finding accommodation as majority of shelters didn’t provide support for people over 18 and there were limited organisations available for short term accommodation and long waiting lists for medium and long term housing.
Over the past two years I have moved 14 times, but recently was given the opportunity to be housed and supported by Othila’s. For the first time in my life, I am in safe, secure and appropriate housing that will allow me to look after myself, work through my issues, plan for my future and reach my goals!