This week, the Wollongong Homeless Hub is hosting the ‘Walk in My Shoes’ challenge.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Participants are asked to follow in the footsteps of previous Hub clients by being given a case scenario that replicates the experience as closely as possible.
Participants can also fundraise to support the Hub’s efforts.
One of the participants was Paul Nesbitt, 49, who works as a manager at Australia Post’s South Coast Mail Centre in Wollongong.
With the assistance of work colleagues, he hopes to raise $1300-plus for the Hub.
From midday Tuesday to midday on Wednesday he took the challenge.
This is his story.
Back story
I had tasks and limitations on what I had, and what I had to do.
I came here to the Hub for support, because one of the limitations was that I had no credit on the phone. They were overwhelmed and I got turned away. They just didn’t have the capacity to take another person here for any support (at the time).
So I walked out the gates and thought, ‘if I was in this position for real, what would be my first step?’
So I went to Centrelink, went up to Campbell Page for the job agency and went to Legal Aid, because my back story was I had some family court issues.
I also went to the library as well. I used the internet and found a property to rent which was within the income bracket.
Meals
I had $40 in my pocket, so I went and found the cheapest thing I could have for lunch, bread and an orange.
After lunch I thought, ‘how does a bloke get a drink of water?’ Something as simple as that, there was nowhere to do that.
After going to the library it started raining, so I sat in my car for 18 hours or something. I went and got dinner, ate raw broccoli and carrot for dinner, which I ate in my car in Swan Street.
The weather
There was rain, lightning; it was very loud, so I didn’t do much sleeping.
I bought a loaf of bread to eat, and because I was awake at 5am I ate it for breakfast.
Facilities
The things that you take for granted. I wanted to go to the toilet, so I went down to the public toilet on Swan Street that I knew, but it was locked. So it was, ‘do I break the law and go up against a wall, or do I find another one?’
I ended up walking all the way back up to Burelli Street where there’s one. Things like that you learn I suppose after time, but if you’re not prepared for it, it’s a very confronting experience.
I knew 24 hours later I’m back into my life, but if for whatever reason I ended up in this position full-time it would be a very steep learning curve.
What I learnt
You hear the stories from the support workers about real-life examples of how people have become homeless, and it could happen.
It’s scary how easily it could happen, for a man or woman. There’s many reasons a person could exhaust their resources and end up on the street, and be completely unprepared for it.
Read More: The hidden faces of the Illawarra's homeless
Another participant is Ann-Marie Balliana, CEO/managing director of Football South Coast.
Mrs Balliana, 44, is due to begin the challenge at midday on Thursday, and said she was “a little anxious”.
“The scenario I've been given is very challenging,” she said.
“I’ll have limited access to funding, I need to apply for work, look for some rental properties with a very small budget and my mobile phone can't make or receive calls.
“And I need to go see a solicitor about some Family Court issues. So there's a lot of things to be done in the 24 hours.”
Mrs Balliana said she agreed to undertake the challenge to create greater awareness of the Hub's services.
She said Football South Coast would host a collection round later this month to raise funds for the Homeless Hub.