[INTRO]: Hi there. You’re about to hear stories from people with lived experience of homelessness, housing insecurity and poverty. As these storytellers reveal, they never imagined that any of these terrible things would happen to them. But they do believe that it could happen to anyone, and that it is the responsibility of everyone to care for the people going through it. 

These stories reflect on experiencing a broken system. Although these struggles happened many years ago for some of them, their stories were ironically recorded during Australia’s cost-of-living crisis in 2023, when homelessness and poverty remain as relevant as ever for many modern families. Here, our storytellers share what they believe needs to change about that system. 

Funded by Anglicare WA and produced by Centre for Stories, these stories were recorded on Bindjareb Nyungar boodjar. We pay our respect to Nyungar Elders, and all Nyungar Elders from the beginning, who are the knowledge-keepers and custodians of this place.  

This is Tanya’s story. 

TANYA: Hi, my name is Tanya. I would like to share with you a moment in my life which impacted me hugely, and it’s made me who I am today. But it went beyond that. It the impact now I’ve noticed, realized is still affecting so many people out there. And if you’d told me that this was gonna be my life in 2016, no way I would’ve believed you. I would’ve thought you were high, basically, because that’s what my life revolved around back then. The only things that really mattered to me were, where am I gonna get my next hit of meth? And am I gonna get it in time to stop this black hole from growing inside me? It certainly wasn’t a choice at that stage. It became survival. Every hit was to survive, and then every hit would hurt me more. And it was just this horrible loop I was stuck in.  

I did try to reach out for help, like I’ve been to doctors and and therapists, but every time I went into a doctor’s surgery, the energy it took to get up and get dressed and get out of the house after spending a few years locked in my bedroom, going to the bathroom or the kitchen and that’s it; it was completely draining when I was already fighting so much anyway? So, I’d do that, I’d go into a doctor’s, they would see me as an addict and accuse me of pill shopping and not actually hear what I needed. I needed support, and I needed help. So by the time I walked out there, I was more exhausted and more broken than before I went in. And this just kept happening until I couldn’t do it anymore. 

So, I reached out on Facebook anonymously to ask for help, and somebody mentioned an organization called Doors Wide Open. So I looked them up and they are a support and advocacy group for individuals and families impacted by methamphetamine. I thought, oh God, I tick that box. So I went in not knowing what to expect and I was greeted with a hug. I was greeted like I was a human being worthy of love and acceptance. And that is something that I actually hadn’t physically felt for a couple of years, I reckon. A genuine hug. 

And that immediately just broke down my walls, and they became such an important part of my support network. They’re such a unique service, the way that they support you, no matter how soon I’d just used or how soon I was planning to use, it didn’t matter. If I got up in the morning and chose not to use. Got up, got dressed, walked into Doors, fell down on the couch in the front office, because that took all my energy. That was more than okay. It was celebrated by them. Because I did it. I got in the door and that’s all that mattered. And there was no other organization I’ve, and still to this day, I’ve ever come across that’s like it.  

So these guys really did empower me to start recovery. They helped me get into rehab. They became my second family after I’d lost everyone in my family. They were the ones that were there for me. These amazing, beautiful people walked beside me through everything, through my darkest days and my greatest highlights.  

So, when the manager approached me and she said, Tanya, we’ve just scored this great contract and there’s a part-time position coming up, and I’ve put your name on the top of the list – I couldn’t believe it. I was just, these guys that I looked up to and admired so much, wanted me? They thought that I could, I had something to offer, like? And that became my whole world. Every time I was going in there, I was sort of looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come up and confirm something. But what happened was quite opposite. So, she came up to me one day and she said, Tanya, I’m so sorry. I need to tell you something. I’ve resigned. And this lady and her daughter created this organization. This was their baby, their blood, sweat, and tears. I couldn’t understand what was gonna happen, what was gonna happen with this place that was still so needed, that still so many people out there needed this place. And me, even though I was well into recovery by that stage, it was still one of my biggest support networks. And she assured me that my name was still on the list and this contract was still viable. They still had it. So I thought, okay, we can, we can do this. That’s all right. And next thing I know, the rest of the staff members left in solidarity with her.  

So, then it went from something that I thought I could handle to: what the… am I gonna do? There was myself and two other new staff members. None of us had training. We’ve all come from lived experience. We were all in different stages of recovery. Our common ground was that Doors had saved our lives. 

So, we all hit the road running with it, really both hands. I am not very good at believing in myself. I never had been. So for that first month, I spent the whole time panicking with people telling me to stop and take a breath. I felt like I had to be everything to everyone, and I had to prove myself to this organization, otherwise I didn’t matter. So I spent the next few weeks stressing out. We had a Bunnings sausage sizzle [fundraiser] organized, so I threw myself into that. And it was just chaos, trying to get the staff involved and volunteers and the food and the float and everything like that. But we got there, we did get there. And on the day of the sausage sizzle, the tent itself was such a great vibe. We had some staff members bring their kids in to help. We had our big boy Shane, flipping the, being the cook, volunteers coming and going. And it was just joyful. Like there was such a great buzz that we were doing something for something we loved and believed in so much. And we had people coming up and just donating us money without buying anything, which was great. Like other people believed in it too.  

Within a few hours, however, a storm had hit. So we… and it was about this time of year, so just the beginning of winter, we were cold, we were wet, the wind was picking up. And you know, these Bunnings Gazebos, each corner, they’re quite weighted, they’re quite heavy. But they weren’t heavy enough. So we ended up having the Bunnings staff coming out, trying to put everything back into position and tie it down a wee bit more. 

The wind was coming in and the rain was coming in sideways. We were all drowned. We were laughing and having so much fun though. And people were still buying sausages, which is, I just don’t understand, guys, get outta the rain, but they’re there to help us, so that was great. That went on for about an hour or so. And then next thing we know, the wind really hit and it hit so hard, this gazebo with Bunnings staff members on the corners. They could no longer contain it. It went flying. Our table that had our cash tin on it went flying. Now our cash tin was still open because we were so busy. We didn’t have time to lock it in between sales. So next thing we turn around and we have got no gazebo over the top of us, no table, and the money all over the car park behind us. 

So, me and another volunteer running around the Bunnings car park picking up, not just coins either. There was like $20 notes. So we were running around trying to pick up this money soaking wet. The wind was getting so loud we couldn’t even hear each other. Our only saving grace, I think is because it was so wet, the money stuck to the pavement. So silver lining in that. It became very unsafe, Bunnings had to call it off. And I completely understand, like it was so chaotic at that point. So that was just about 1:30, I think in the afternoon. We got, we got called off. It wasn’t quite over though. We still had to pack up, clean up, head back to Doors Wide Open, sort out all the leftover food, count the money.  

And I remember standing there at Doors, the sun had gone down. So it must have been about five o’clock at night. We were wet, we were cold, we were trying to crank the heaters on. I was just looking around and I was in awe at us, at the team and what we have got, what we created. Because through all of that, we all proved to each other how much we genuinely were there for Doors and for each other. And the lengths we were gonna go to really help each other and pull each other up, because that’s what the whole day was. We were just constantly trying to keep things going and happy and vibing and that, because what else were you meant to do? You know? 

So, there was definitely a moment that afternoon at Doors, looking around, where I felt our team, that that was the foundations of our team, moving forward to keep Doors open. If we could do that, we can do anything.  

And we did. We went on to complete the contract. That was through Anglicare for the Housing First support services, which is the hat I’m wearing today. We are one of the largest peer support teams in Anglicare.  

And I look back and I think, you know, before all that happened, I had no belief in myself at all. No self-esteem. And I did just keep putting one foot in front of the other and faked it until I made it, really. And now I wouldn’t even recognize myself if I knew, if I saw me back then. The confidence I have in my ability to persevere and follow your dreams, and if you believe in something, make it happen. It’s, it’s just unreal really. Our team is forever growing stronger and stronger. Doors Wide Open is still open, which is incredible considering back then, before the staff left, they said, don’t quit your day job. This place will be closed in three weeks. And this is two and a half years later. Now they’re still open. 

So, if you ever wanna, if there’s anything out there that you ever feel like you’re really passionate about or if there’s something that you really want to be or embrace, absolutely go for it. Even if it means that you have to fake it till you make it, just one foot in front of the other and do it, it’s worth it. You are worth it.  

OUTRO: Thank you for listening. This story collection was funded by Anglicare WA and produced by Centre for Stories. You can head to anglicarewa.org.au to learn more about their impact in driving positive change for those in need, as well as listen to the other stories in this collection. Centre for Stories is a not-for-profit organization with charitable status. Our team is small and nimble, and we love what we do. To help us to continue to support diverse storytellers, consider a small donation. You can donate at centreforstories.com. This podcast was produced by Luisa Mitchell, with story training from Sukhjit Khalsa, and sound engineering by Mason Vellios. Thank you.