By Paul Dobbyn
A YOUNG brother and sister living with their parents in cars in bayside Brisbane are among Queensland’s best-kept secrets.
So are the other 5000 homeless young children in this state, according to Rosies chief executive officer Troy Bailey.
“I met the bayside family a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
“Somehow the mother was getting the children to school – they were in Years 3 and 5.
“She was having to wash their clothes in public facilities, hoping they’d dry in time for school the next day.
“I felt really sorry for the young kids … they were not allowed to say anything at school about their situation.
“It must be so hard on children having to keep that sort of secret.”
Some of the families doing it toughest are those who’ve been working and living regular lives.
First the breadwinners lose their jobs, then they’re unable to keep up with house payments.
That’s when many of them turn to living in cars, Mr Bailey said.
“The downward spiral can happen really quickly from here,” he said.
“They can’t afford fuel then they may even lose their cars.”
Mr Bailey said pride was an enormous issue with many of these families.
“One fellow I came across was living in a car with four kids; he’d starved them for two days because he was too proud to seek help,” Mr Bailey said.
“The system is not working nearly quickly enough.
“These people often don’t know how to seek help or don’t want to.
“They have been so proud to be able to support their families all their lives then suddenly they can’t.
“One thing that really gets me is they will keep blaming themselves.
“They need to forget this and just let organisations like Rosies know so that help can reach them as quickly as possible.”
Mr Bailey said public funding was important to Rosies’ ongoing operation.
“For example, the Flannery Foundation donated an incredibly generous $30,000 to our 2014 winter appeal,” he said.
“Then there are long standing partnerships with organisations such as Bartons Bayside who have recently pledged ongoing support through workplace giving.”
To learn more visit www.rosies.org.au.
