Did you know?

There are currently 105,237 people in Australia who are homeless.

The rate of homelessness (which takes into account population density) is 49 out of every 10,000 people (0.5% of the population).

 

’That’s serious’ 

What if we held a sleep out?

One night on the street

 

I am a member of the SEE program at the Court Street TAFE centre and we are doing a project on homelessness in the Mid-Western areas and we want to establish the severity of the situation.

Having experienced homelessness myself in the area I know all too well how difficult this can be having no other option but to sleep outside let alone eat or drink - no amenities, nothing.

 

It would be greatly appreciated by everyone involved if you all would help us by raising awareness and tackling the issue head on.

 

So if you are real, then join us in our quest to raise awareness. The idea of holding a sleep out, would be an opportunity to document our efforts for the purpose of showing other people our experiences and what life is like when you’re sleeping rough. Our goal is to show you these experiences in the hope that we could to stop this problem in our community where people are continually “slipping through the cracks”.  So if you are serious about your Community and want to take action to stop others from being left out in the cold alone with nowhere to go, then, be brave and participate.  Help us make this issue known so it can be eliminated and no one else walks the road I have.  It might not directly affect you, but it is affecting our community and this is something we can do to stop it from holding us back in the bigger picture. If you’re with me, I challenge you to click through to our blog and vote YES!

All it would take would be a simple barbeque, a space for everyone like maybe Lawson Park and some simple fund raising – we’d take our students with cameras to document people’s choices and what life is like out there. We could show the video to schools. If you have a comfortable life to go home to you wouldn’t even have to stay out for the whole night – just come out and sit around the fire and have a yarn, hear people’s stories, find out what’s going on – sitting around a 44 gallon drum with timber and a fire, that’s what most hobos do - we’re not really asking for a large sum of money but you never know what you could attract, just by bringing people together in a close environment, you never know what discussions could take place, and how that could shape things in the larger picture.

Fear and Loneliness, The age of Homelessness

Loss of payment isn't a problem, but you're trying to get at me.

You've got no money, you don't matter. You don't count.

Inconsistencies do not help the situation. You can see the underlying problem may be proper schooling - but they prefer to just hand out the money.

I got no letters, no emails, no text messages.  But I got their message anyway -  you missed this appointment. And now you're back on the street. Nowhere to sleep. So you drive around the town - you won't lock these people up.

You people, you sit in front of a computer all day and tell me quit my job and go study- your pathway to success is to learn not earn. So I quit my job and it was a lot of help - NOT!.

Money doesn't buy you happiness. I need help now. It's all so much loss and pain.

It's not safe, it's confusing. I'm taking my pain out on people that actually care. You don't understand.

Now I'm sleeping rough, I'm sleeping tough, with a 12 gauge in a sack as my pillow.

I'm pushing people away.

The pain creates everything. Divorce, the grief, of losing someone. It creates the pain, the depression. I have to live with the pain and grief everyday. If you don't know how to deal with it you are one step closer to the gutter. But I was lucky - I was strong enough to get up and fight.

I'm back in town now, off the streets, for now.

Everyone has a right. Why isn't shelter a right? Why isn't Australia taking notice?

Homelessness

In Mudgee NSW

There are people sleeping in Mudgee tonight on the streets. People who can't get a house. A lot of people do pick on them. In Sydney there are a lot of people in working clothes who are camping under the bridge.

One time I ran away. When my mum was alive and I got cranky and went in my room, got dressed in my overalls, and camped in my ute. I camped around Mudgee. It was winter time but I had a blanket with me. I drove out of town on the out of town road. I parked on the side of the road. It was a little bit scary but I was used to it. I think I only stayed out there for the night. While I was out there my family started to settle down. I went to work the next day.

I was working for Dad, and he came and told me that he said something to my friend. He asked me to come home. He said Mum was a bit upset too.

The next time it happened was the week that my Mum passed away. I slept in the ute for about a week, because my aunty thought she could take my Mum’s place.  Dad spoke up for me and said he's only got one Mum. I was sleeping in the ute but I was still going out to work.

Sometimes it was parked out on the road out of town, sometimes it was out near the old sale yards. On a Friday I decided to go home and have a shower because I hadn’t had a shower for a week. Then another fellow came and got me and said I told him the truth why you were sleeping in the ute.  I was still going to work and everything. They needed me to do the deliveries. Some of the customers said “Oh, we saw you out sleeping in the ute.”

I just felt that I could go home at any time but that I didn’t want to. Not everyone has that choice. They just stay outside, and sometimes they get into fights. Someone rings the Police, and people end up sleeping in the park.

When I think about homeless people and I see people who don’t care it brings up for me when I was staying in the ute. So many people have no house to stay in. They’ve got no family. No-one to talk to.

My lady is away working. It’s been a while since I saw her. But she phoned this morning to say good morning.  I felt happy, and it’s comforting to have someone in your life who cares. Not everyone is that lucky. This is my story and I can only say I’m lucky to have my family and I don’t have to sleep in my ute every night.

Congratz Chloe

Congratulations Chloe for standing up for yourself.. I'm happy for you that you fixed your life up and stood up for what is right. I'm Sorry that you have a disability I wish I could help you with it. hope all is well now that you figured out you can forgive and forget and still be happy. thank you for your Courage and happiness. have a great life and forget the haters.... :)
        

 

To read more about Chloe's life, visit About Chloe

Homeless In Mudgee Tonight