Not an uncommon story
11:47
I am sitting with my housemate Daniel after a long day at work. We crack open a beer and unwind from the day. He has a bruise across his left eye. I has asked him about it. “I got in a tussle with a homeless guy” he tells me.
Daniel is an Outreach Worker at Launch Housing, an independent organisation aimed at ending homelessness. He walks the streets of Melbourne on a weekly basis and spends time with our forgotten and looked over citizens. He offered them support and links the to vital social support services. Many would be surprised to find that every night there are hundreds of people in Melbourne without a bed to sleep. The Youth Projects center, based in Hosier Lane, recorded 280 unregistered homeless clients in a month-long period in June this year
Today’s story is not uncommon.
Daniel found James in the city during his street beat. Like any other day he approached to offer support and to assess James' situation. The conversation started calmly enough. “I was asking him how his day was and how he ended up here” Daniel says. The interaction was normal enough. Daniel then started suggested places James could go for support. James replied with “I don’t trust any of them, they’re out to get us.” James was referring to the government. Daniel immediately identified that this fellow had a mental illness.
You see, many of those who live of on streets of Melbourne suffer from some type of mental illness. Recent ABS data shows that of those who had reported being homeless at least once in their lives, more than half had experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months, 3 times higher than among those who had never been homeless.
A trained social worker Daniel attempted his best to work around the issue, that's when things got sour. James quickly turned on Daniel. Shouting and accusing Daniel of being from some government agency out to get him. That’s when James swings a punch at him and landed right below his left eye.
“You alright mate?” I inquired. Daniel just shrugged it off. “Just another day on the beat mate” he responds.
We talk of solutions and what the average person can do to help. Daniel explains that he specializes in the most disenfranchised homeless in Melbourne, the primary homeless or ‘rough sleepers’, many with mental illnesses. “Unfortunately many fall through the cracks of the system. Their mental illness creates an extra barrier to accesses support services.” he says.
“If you really want to help out, when you see a homeless person begging, don’t give them your change. Buy them some food. That’s the best way to start helping out” he adds.
6 comments
Ouch!! That blow surely got me. I must say food is an essential need to every individual to lead a healthy active life. The least we could do to help someone on the streets is provide them with food. There's so much food out there that's going waste, in restaurants houses while there's many out there dying due to hunger. Do you think food share Australia could somehow manage and deliver these excess food to the people in need?
ReplyDeletegood story in real life. Actually I see many homeless everyday, but I just don't dare to talk or help them any. I think they really need help, but the government doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteWhen you hit rock bottom, you do lose trust in the world. They have their guard up for so long, that when someone tries to help them, the trust is not there.
ReplyDeleteOver the last week I've see sooo many people who are homeless around Melbourne. I think from the stats say that its doubled over the last couple of years and it's obvious.
I find it really interesting that Daniel recommends buying a homeless person a meal as the best way to help them. I'll take that on board for what I do in future, because I often give a couple of dollars or simply offer a smile so I feel I've done something to help someone in a tough situation. But I never know that the best thing to do is so I appreciate this advice. If more people understood this,and that they can easily fund a meal though Foodshare, you can have a huge impact on helping people doing it tough ensure they have life's most basic need - a nourishing meal.
ReplyDeleteWhen you hit rock bottom, you do lose trust in the world. They have their guard up for so long, that when someone tries to help them, the trust is not there.
ReplyDeleteOver the last week I've see sooo many people who are homeless around Melbourne. I think from the stats say that its doubled over the last couple of years and it's obvious.
I didn't know (or I never really think about) the problem of mental illness for homeless people. Do this happen because they are living on the street in hard conditions? Or because they have a mental illness they stay isolated and become homeless ?
ReplyDeleteDaniel has lot of courage to be so engage with this people, like the article shows it's not easy everyday and I really admire these people who give their time for others !
I'm agree on the fact that giving a meal can be better than giving your change, and food share can be a good solution, but how people like the homeless you talk about in the article could get benefit from the meals you give if he refuse any help? Have you think of a way to reach these people?
But beautiful article and project, I really like the idea!