Everyday in Dana Street, Ballarat’s invisible population meets to talk and share a meal.
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The homeless, the mentally ill, the misjudged, the bereft, the lonely gathered at the base of an old bluestone and iron staircase leading to a lane between the imposing brick walls of the Uniting Church and the Wesleyan Hall – the breezeway.
The group is familiar. Everyone acknowledges each other, even if they’re not known by name.
The BreezeWay Meals program has been running out of here since 1998, entirely run by volunteers and supported by donations from the public and trusts. It receives no government or council funding.
Amongst the people sitting among the battered chairs and tables outside the cafe are those who, for whatever reason, have found themselves without a home. This is the story of those people and the people who care for them.
The homeless girl
Jasmine* is 27. She’s bright, happy, enthusiastic, eloquent. Until recently, she lived in her station wagon, with a dog and a cat.
“I was 25 when it all started. I was in a car accident and got lower back injuries. That led to me losing my job. I moved in with my girlfriend to save money. I thought I loved her. She bashed me, nearly hospitalised me. Because of that relationship I lost a lot of contact with my family.
“I got out straightaway. I ended up living in my car with a dog and a cat for several months. I didn’t see a psychologist or psychiatrist about the problems I had after my car accident. I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after that. It made it hard to find a job. I’m still not able to work.
“Trying to find a house, not having a job, it’s really hard to find a house. Being in my car, I didn’t want to stay around town. I went out bush. Living in my car with a cat and a dog was so much fun. They fought like – cats and dogs.
“When I was in town I was living at the Lake. You gets lots of people coming and looking in your car. I was at the lake because the water is there and there are BBQs to cook your food on. It’s really hard to be a girl and be homeless. Having your period. There were showers there. I never got harassed by the police – a lot of people do – but I never felt safe.
“There was only a bit of glass between me and the outside world. My dog was on guard all the time, she’s the best guard dog in the world, she’s a chihuahua. Even out in the bush I was a bit wary, but at least the dog could run free.
“I squatted in a house for a while, I found a house for sale in the country. I watched the comings and goings of it for a while; I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a house that was regularly looked at. It had been on the market for ages. It was really, really cold. It was throughout winter, I was freezing my butt off. I thought ‘I’ll just see if I can get in there somehow, just have a little bit of warmth.’
“When I got in there, there was a mattress, and the power was on, it was like the world’s best blessing.
“I consider myself to be a really honest person, but I just was desperate. Cold. I didn’t have a lot of clothes, of bedding. I was coming to UnitingCare, but I hate asking for help. I’m really stubborn.
“I was there for about two months and then I got busted by the real estate agents. I fabricated my story, like ‘I was renting this house’, and they just said move along, they didn’t charge me.
“UnitingCare said they could find me accommodation, but I’d have to give up my animals. My animals are my children, my life. I’ve gone hungry to feed them. If I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be here. I was getting suicidal; I really needed help. I wasn’t getting anywhere on my own.
“My mum lived in a nursing home in Geelong, I managed to make contact with her. She said she could take my pets while I got into Berry Street (Services). I stumbled across someone renting a bungalow, fully furnished, out at the back of their house. They said I could have my pets; I was so excited. They said I couldn’t get rent assistance from Centrelink, the rent was $150 a week. I thought I could deal with that. They wanted cash, they didn’t want Centrelink to know.
“After a few months I was struggling really hard, paying $300 a fortnight (rent) out of $500 a fortnight assistance. So I asked them again; I sat down and asked them again ‘can I please get rent assistance.’ I’d done all my research; they could be on Centrelink and I could still get rent assistance. I did all this research and gave it to them.
“The next day my car broke down. I pulled up in a tow truck in Wendouree West to find my whole belongings out on the side of the road, just everything out for the world to grab. It was raining, it ruined everything I had worked so hard to get. My animals were in this horrible crate, just shoved there with no food or water, they’d been there all day.
“UnitingCare have a few units that are long-term, they offered me one of those. They said ‘they’re really small, really tiny,’ but I don’t care, I love it. It’s mine. They built it about a year ago, it has a multi-purpose room – bathroom, kitchen, laundry, lounge and a big bedroom. I have a backyard and I was able to have my pets. They put in gardens for me, I’m growing my own vegetables. UnitingCare have organised for me to get treatment for my PTSD and also pain management. I’m just the happiest I could be. I feel safe.”
*Name has been changed.
The crisis support co-ordinator
Naomi Bailey is a vital cog in the way UnitingCare channels its relief to those who need it. She co-ordinates emergency relief and the BreezeWay food program. BreezeWay serves on average 65 people a day, seven days a week. There are a least 10 appointments a day for emergency relief as well as referrals, serving anyone in a crisis situation with food vouchers and packages.
“We’re seeing the homeless, those on the brink of homelessness – that’s the greatest part of our clientele. Those with mental health issues, physical health ailments. Over 70 per cent have long-term mental health issues. We have our social services accessible to them but not many ask to use it. Most are self-medicating or choosing not to medicate.
“About 10 per cent are ‘living rough’; living out of their car, living in squats. A nurse attends every Wednesday from 11am to 1pm, doing referrals for doctors, checking blood pressure and general health questions. There are a lot of skin issues, particularly if they’ve got an open wound. Because they don’t have access to laundry facilities, for their clothes or themselves, they present with ulcerations and infections. But the number-one is issue is mental health.
“Our food is donated through SecondBite, FoodBank and local donations. Benview Farms donate a lamb every month. Anyone might come in, a grandma who’s grown too much rhubarb. Our buying budget is very limited. We utilise as much as we can.
“We have one food supervisor at BreezeWay, that’s one person with food qualifications; and three volunteers per shift. We have people who pick up and deliver food, and myself. morning tea starts from 10.30am and lunch is served at 12pm.
“The clients are really good. They’ll come in and see that the dining room is full and rotate through; they’ll wait to change over. And they have the option of a take-home pack. There are long-term clients here, those that are homeless, living in a squat or a car. There are three or four that are have really poor mental health, have no services in place, not accessing anything that they should be or could be. They are here everyday.
“We also get some that just appear, that just come to Ballarat. There’s a guy from another regional town that just lives in his car and travels where work is. There are families that are being forced into this as well. There’s at least 50 to 70 individuals and families in Ballarat a night doing this – not ‘couch-surfing’
“There’s a client in BreezeWay who spoke to me recently. He’s living in what’s considered a long-term transitional housing for single men and he said: ‘My day is the same. I’m so depressed. I’m usually a happy person but I’m not now. I’m miserable because my routine is that I go to Anglicare for breakfast; I go to BreezeWay for lunch; I go to the Soup Bus for dinner. In between I’m doing nothing but talking to people who are living this, who are so depressed, who have nothing.’”
The kitchen volunteer
Isobel Austin works in the kitchen of the BreezeWay cafe, and has done for many years. She was a Lucas Girl, and volunteered at Peplow House when it was an institution managed by the Ballarat Council of Churches.
“I was here nearly 11 years and then I had a break because my husband wasn’t well, and then he passed away; so I’ve only restarted this year.
“I used to work with a lovely fellow from out at Learmonth, Keith Hucker, and he had a bakery – he’s in his 80s now – and he used to take the leftover bread when I was at Peplow House. I was there for a long time as a volunteer in the kitchen. That was an everyday thing; the fellows used to come in at 12, have a meal and go. And then they could come back at night and stay, but they weren’t allowed to stay in the same bed, so they didn’t get accustomed, you know?
“There wasn’t drugs around like today; they were mainly alcoholics. They weren’t allowed in if they were too much under the influence. They’d get a cup of coffee or something and sit on the verandah. But them some of them, they weren’t well, they’d get driven to Lakeside (Psychiatric Hospital). Then all that changed, and that’s when this started.
“It was started by Barb Cole. I needed to do something. I got married when I was about 19, had the children and everything, and you get to a stage when they’re at school or working and you think ’what am I going to do in life now?’
“I’m not much of a cook. I found this great big bottle of chilli. I didn’t know what chilli was in those days. So I said ‘how about a dash of this?’ So I put it in, and it turned out it was hot as Hades, and I said ‘Well at least it will stop ‘em drinking their beers for a bit.’
“It’s the companionship here. Christine, I’ve only met her for the second time today, and the other lady too, she used to have the little milk bar on Mair Street. We just clicked, you know?
“All the time I’ve been here there’s only been one incident that I can recall. This fellow, I suppose he had a split personality, he’d be fine one day and the next day he wouldn’t. He was having a conversation and I was minding my own business, didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but he said something and the next thing Theresa (cooking co-ordinator) said, ‘Out the door! You don’t talk to my volunteers like that!’ That’s all I can recall.”
The housing and crisis co-ordinator
Wendy Ferguson speaks with precision and directness. She knows exactly what is going on in her housing stock at any point in time - or what needs to be going on. She lists the assets of UnitingCare readily, one after the other: new units in Delacombe; refurbishments underway; how many rooms are available or occupied.
“We provide a wide range of housing, primarily transitional housing. We have 133 transitional houses. Transitional housing assists people out of homelessness into something temporary, until they can work on their long-term housing options.
“We turn these properties over two or three times a year. Across the whole program, over the last couple of years, we have provided over 500 tenancies.
“The main problem is lack of supply, really. At the end of everything else that we talk about and all the other things that we can do, we don't have enough housing, and we don't have enough affordable housing, and that's the case right across the state, and across the country. It's not just here. So really, in the end, that's what we need is more units of affordable housing.
“At the moment we've actually done a new strategic plan and we are trying to bring together a group of people across Ballarat, people who are in a position where they can make decisions about addressing the issue of homelessness and lack of appropriate affordable housing. It’s in its infancy at the moment, but it's starting to happen. It’s hopefully going to mean getting the (Ballarat City) Council there as well; developers and real estate agents; CEOs of the different agencies. Really coming together to try and get a community approach to the issue.
“There could be any number of reasons why people find themselves homeless. UnitingCare is what we call the entry point into the homelessness system. That’s sort of how the system works; they are required to come here, they’re assessed.
“If there needs to be an intervention immediately – they have no food or clothing or somewhere to sleep that night – we do what we can to put something in place. And then they’re assessed for their need for housing, mental health support, financial support, alcohol and drug counselling.
“If they're sleeping in the car or sleeping rough, they’re the highest priority. And when the resources become available to match that need – a house, or housing support – we match a person to the resource as quickly as we can. Sometimes that doesn't happen for some time, it can be quite a long wait for people. Often there's not enough support to meet the need.
“We don’t have enough crisis housing, for families in particular, in Ballarat. We do have a few family violence crisis properties. But if we do have a shortage, one of the things we are funded to do is to find somewhere for a family to stay temporarily until we can actually get them into transitional housing.
“Sometimes that’s through motels or caravan parks. In the past, in some of the accommodation, unfortunately things haven't worked very well and now we don't have any sort of relationship with those places at all. If they are lucky enough to have a family member or friend that they can stay with temporarily, that's generally what families end up doing.”
The district nurse
Narelle Burgess is a nurse with Ballarat District Nursing & Healthcare, which has been attending the BreezeWay program for 16 of its 18 years. She works one day a week for two hours, assessing and counselling clients on a no-name, no-fee basis.
“I've been here two years. I use the visitor's office which opens out onto the breezeway where they walk past. It's an open-door policy; I just put a little blackboard out there: Nurse Is Visiting. If they have any health care concerns they can come in and have a casual chat. I help with referrals to doctors and specialists; and also I can check their blood pressure and do their blood sugar. I can look at wounds. We are trying to get our podiatrist involved as well.
“They have general questions. Maybe they have a chronic illness, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma. They might ask about their medications; they might have skin lesions or something they're concerned about. And I just have a look and then I say I what I think might be a good – maybe a GP review. They get to know me, and then the doctor's office is across the road, and they know there's a nurse over there. There are a lot of mental health issues, domestic violence, alcohol and drug problems, which are very complicated and not my area as such. I'm a generalist nurse.
“There are various reasons why their health is not their first priority. They are finding somewhere to eat and sleep. One guy asked about his teeth. He said he couldn't get into any private dentists. And I said there's a public dentist at the Ballarat Base Hospital. He didn’t know that.
“It's building up a bit of trust. They're very transient; you might see someone a couple of times and then they disappear. Everyone, not just the older people. There's a lot of domestic violence, a lot of women looking for housing. Their health is pretty poor overall.
“I don't judge people because they're poor or they're rich. It's a bit of sad because there are things out there that they just don't feel comfortable talking about. I had a lady that was, I can't say exactly, but she was sexually assaulted. She'd had an abortion. There were some questions she had about post treatment. I could help with that and point her in the right direction. The doctor didn't really explain much to her; it had to do with false-positive pregnancy and her drugs. She didn't really understand that, so I explained it to her.
“I think a lot of them think that the hospitals don't listen. And so they don't bother seeking treatment. And sometimes, due to mental illness, they don’t take in what's said. Of course doctors do care, but they're busy like everyone else, and these people need more care than they can give.A lot of people say 'oh I didn't even know that meals program existed'. I'm sure if the community was aware, they'd help.
“I had a lady that had fractured ribs after being assaulted by her partner. She felt that no-one was really listening to her or trying to help. So I just had a little chat. And she decided to go back and speak to the domestic violence people again to see what they could work out for her.
“Being homeless, you just don't have permanent place to have letters sent to you, have a home number, have transport to go anywhere, to an appointment. A lot of them have been there before; they’re locked into some of the services.
“They fly under the radar. No-one really sees them. You know, they’re invisible - that's what these people are.”