IRENE is a 67-year-old Caboolture resident who has been homeless for the last 16 months.
She is one of thousands of Queenslanders stuck in the ongoing housing crisis.
“Many years ago, when I would go into the city, I would see homeless people and wonder how they got to where they are,” Irene said.
“Now I know – it can happen to anyone.
“I was in a rental and the landlord began enforcing strange rules like no bookshelves and I wasn’t allowed to grow anything in the garden anymore and I had to remove my vegetable patch.
“I had only recently lost my sister and my partner months apart and I wasn’t in the best headspace.”
She said she became depressed and when her lease came up for renewal, she had to find a new place to live.
“I had no access to a computer and when I could get to one, I would spend hours looking for a rental but could never find one,” she said.
“I had very little money and nowhere to go, and I felt totally alone.
“Looking back, I can see that the landlord was being unreasonable, and I should have taken it to the RTA but I wasn’t in a good place mentally to have that conversation.
“I thought about suicide, but I knew I couldn’t do that, I needed to get through it and that eventually everything would be ok.”
Irene stayed with a friend for a while but then her rent went up and she had to move.
“One of my other friends offered her couch and I stayed there but even though she never said, I could tell it was inconvenient for the family, so I left,” she said.
“I slept in my car for a while and then about 12 months ago someone told me about Rosies, and I went to see what it was all about.
“At first, I felt a bit uncomfortable about going and asking for something that only a few months previously I could have gotten for myself, but the volunteers and other people who attend made me feel welcome and it gave me hope.”
She said she met so many people at Rosies that introduced her to other helpful services too.
“It’s okay to ask for help and it’s nice to be in a place where I can connect with other people who are in the same boat,” she said.
“Rosies brings people together and lets us know that we are not the only ones; that there is hope, that there are people who care and that we belong.
“You can always get what you need at Rosies.
“Whether it’s a blanket, noodles, coffee, or a chat – sometimes you don’t know what you need until you get there.”
Irene tried to see positives even in the face of great challenges.
“While living in my car isn’t the best of circumstances, it’s strangely freeing.
“I can be who I want to be in the car, I have the freedom to be myself and I can choose who I spend time with.
“I’m starting from the bottom and things can only get better from here.
“The rental crisis is bad, but the day will come when I will find a place.
“In the meantime, there are services that help and there are people who care.”
Irene’s positive outlook on her current situation has not gone unnoticed by her fellow patrons.
“A few weeks back two people at Rosies came up to me and said: ‘You’re not like other homeless people – you have this energy, you are lively and enthusiastic, you are a teacher for us.’
“What they said made me feel really good, like I was helping them just by being there – I’m making a difference every day just like Rosies.”
The community that Irene found at Rosies has been invaluable as she navigates her way forward.
“The Rosies volunteers have worked hard to create an environment that is safe for all of us.
“Rosies doesn’t care about who you are or where you’ve come from, drug addicts, low-income earners, homeless; they treat you with respect and they all accept you.
“You meet different volunteers all the time but they are beautiful, people each and every one.
“It fills me with hope to sit and have a cuppa with my friends.”
If you’d like to find out more, please head to rosies.org.au
