Three young people tell how they were abused by the very people they trusted to protect them. Youth Off The Streets helped turn their lives around.
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Tracey's story
Well, how do you start to explain your life when you don’t even wish to be involved in it yourself? It seems that through all the hardships in my life I have managed to keep a smile on my face no matter how hard or depressing.
All my problems started at birth, born addicted to heroin to a mother who tried so hard to keep me from becoming her worst fear, an image of herself. I went through withdrawal, had fits and even had an operation as my bowels were twisted, all this in my first year. I grew to resent my mother for this, even to hate her to some extent.
At four the abuse started with having my arm broken by my stepfather, at six it grew to sexual abuse as well as physical and mental. Because of this I hated myself for many years, believing I was worth nothing more than to be a man’s sexual tool.
It has taken me years to accept that I was not to blame and had done nothing to seduce or provoke my stepfather.
At the tender age of eight I started smoking pot and ciggies. At 11 I was snorting speed, cocaine and smoking gear. By 13 I was a junkie, trapped in a vicious circle. I did not know where to turn.
Now at 14 I have spent time in Yasmar Detention Centre, shot up, stripped and even considered prostitution to support my cocaine habit. I have made this a short version as I do not wish to go into detail as it is quite painful to remember.
I am starting afresh, forgetting my past and moving on with my life. A junkies life is no life for anyone.
William’s story
When I was born my mum and dad were married for five years until they were separated in 1988. A year later mum and us kids moved when I was six years old.
My mother had chronic back pain due to a car crash mum and dad had when they first got married. She saw this stupid doctor who put her on a drug which should only be given to cancer patients. She got addicted to it and was on it for about three and a half years before she went to rehab in 1993.
But between 1989 to 1993 she used to go into hospital a lot which meant me and my sister and brother had to go into foster care and they separated us from seeing each other.
I found out my sister was molested by some father of a so-called stable family. My sister was only 10 years old. Meanwhile I was with another family who used to take pleasure in taking turns at physically beating the s*** out of me. I stayed there for a month before I could go back home.
In 1990 mum got sick again so we went back into care for two months, that’s when I was first molested by a woman. On top of that I was going to school and getting rammed into walls by a teacher for mucking up in class.
When I finally got back home with mum I tried to hang myself but my sister walked in and called triple zero. Mum took me to councilling in 1994. The doctor diagnosed me with ADD and severe depression. He prescribed me with anti-depressants. I saw him for two years.
When I was 12 I started using pot with my sister and her friends. Then I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. I started drinking heavily when I was 14 with all my mates. One night me and a friend broke into 18 houses together. We got busted by the police, we went to court and got 12 months’ good behaviour bond and court fines. I didn’t get busted again until me and two friends broke into a bottle shop in 1999. I nearly got put away but I did a pre-employment programme that ran for three weeks for people that had the same problem with the law.
I finished the programme, got my certificate, went to court and got 12 months’ good behaviour and an $800 fine. Then I moved into dad’s house and started working in a club/restaurant washing dishes. I quit that after four months and then worked in a pie factory for two months. After about 11 months I started hanging round with the wrong crowd (drug users).
I had my first line of speed in early 2000 just after my 17th birthday. I eventually turned into a bludger on the dole with no ambitions for the future. On most weekends me and a few mates would get on ecstasy to make us feel better.
Eventually dad kicked me out leaving me no option but to go back to live with mum and her new boyfriend. I kept using for about seven months until I decided to come to Dunlea to get clean and to go to the farm for long term rehabilitation.
Rachel’s story
Rachel was only 13 when she started to go off the rails. She began drinking alcohol, smoking and had blazing rows with her mum.
Soon after, at the age of 14, she moved out of home completely and found herself sleeping somewhere different every night – sometimes she would stay on a friend’s sofa, sometimes in a hostel and sometimes she would even sleep on the streets.
Rachel’s habits became heavier and more dangerous. Her life began to spiral out of control until she decided one day that if she continued the way she was she wouldn’t make it to her 21st birthday. She decided she needed help and came to Youth Off The Streets for the support she needed.
After a couple of attempts Rachel made it through our Dunlea drug and alcohol program, found temporary accommodation at Don Bosco House, Youth Off The Street’s crisis refuge, and enrolled in Key College, our accredited high school for homeless teenagers where she completed her HSC.
Rachel now rents her own flat and holds down a full time job and now really looks forward to celebrating her 21st birthday with her family and friends.
Youth Off The Streets recently opened a new centre for youth in Cordeaux Heights. The centre offers both residential and educational programs for disadvantaged young people aged between 12 and 18 years. The centre includes an extension of Youth Off The Streets existing Aboriginal Residential Care Service in Southern Highlands, into which Aboriginal young people are referred by the Department of Family and Community Services. Underpinned by cultural identity and heritage, the young people are given the opportunity to focus on the skills necessary for employment and are supported in the journey towards full independence. The site also offers the Barbara Holborow Bail Accommodation Service, a service for young people who are first time offenders, diverting them from juvenile detention centres and providing a flexible yet structured program based on skill-development and designed to encourage them not to reoffend.
The site also hosts the fifth independent, accredited high school of the organisation, Craig Davis College. The College provides a highly integrated, structured and engaging curriculum that empowers young people with educational strategies and pro-social skills so that they can make informed decisions about positive change.
For more information, contact info@youthoffthestreets.com.au or 4223 7555.