This is the speech I am about to present to the top 300+ CEO's of Sydney, AU. This problem is a global problem, but it is not a challenge that cannot be fixed.
The end of 2009 beginning of 2010 seems like a lifetime away for me. So much has happened since then. It’s been a huge year all around. We have seen devastating earthquakes and tsunami’s, volcanic eruptions, up’s and down’s in the stock market, and all the while the numbers of homeless people, right here in Sydney, are continuing to grow. You are all about to get a taste of what it is like to sleep outside for the night, but to be honest, and I am sure you are all aware, that your experience tonight does not compare to what it is like to be out there night after night, day after day.
Over the last year, I have had some extraordinary experiences, two of which I would like to share with you tonight.
First, is the 8 weeks that I spent with youths in Hurstville, NSW. I was shown what it was like to be anywhere from 14 to 21 years of age, forced out of your home and out on to the streets by parents who were either too busy, or too emotionally unstable to care for their children. These kids let me into their world so I could better understand their needs. What I found was heart wrenching. I learned quickly that most of these kids had been in the “system” for quite a while, and yes, some of them had learned how to manipulate it very well. I also learned of how severe the need continues to be, for emergency shelters, mental health services, and education, for not only the kids, but for the communities that they are being abandoned in.
Ok, so you say we can’t fix it all, it will take time. I get that, but these kids don’t have time. They are out there being abused and neglected. They are facing drugs and alcohol as a way of escaping the life that they feel they have no control over.
It’s not about a free ticket. Being on centrelink as an adolescent just sets them up for a life of being enabled. We need to find ways to empower these kids. Getting them off the streets and into safe housing with programs that will teach them how to find the magnificence within themselves is a great start to breaking the cycle of homelessness and substance abuse that has been going on for generations.
The second experience that I would like to share with you is about the time I spent with a young man named Donnie.
Donnie was 18 years old and homeless, spending his nights and days on George St. I was working on Goulburn st, and everyday I would see this young man huddled in the corner trying to keep warm. After being here last year with you all, I could not just walk by him. I stopped and asked him if he had eaten and he said not for a couple of days. So I bought him breakfast and we sat down and he told me about himself. Donnie had come up from Melbourne for work but once he arrived here in Sydney, the work dried up and he had no way to get back home. One night I saw him and he was so sick he could barely stand up. So I got him into an internet café for the night because there wasn’t any room in the men’s shelter. He had a fever and was pretty dehydrated, so I bought him some juice and panadol and a sandwhich that he could eat when he felt up to it. Donnie and I repeatedly tried to get him into the men’s shelter but it was consistently full. There just wasn’t enough room. There just aren’t enough facilities.
There are so many more people that I have met over the past year, mum’s and children, husbands and wives, single men and women, and yes even children out there on their own.
What you are doing here tonight is incredibly important; and believe me I know the value of what St. Vincent De Paul and places like Amelie House is. Without their assistance women like myself, might still be out there on the streets, and moving from couch to couch alienating friends and family. But because of the work that is being done here tonight, we can continue to make a difference.
So what is my goal for this year, you ask . . .
I have created a workshop for teens that speaks in their language that encompasses their music and their culture so that they can easily assimilate the message. And my message is, that they are all incredible and magnificent human beings. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses but they all have the right and the ability to be anything and everything they can dream of.
I am working on making this a multi-media event that I can take to the schools, to the communities, and to anyone who will listen, because our kids are our future and if we don’t lead by example, they will have nothing to follow. This is my dream, and I believe that dreams do come true.
So, tonight I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for the assistance that not only I received almost 2 years ago now, but for your participation and generosity tonight.
I look forward to seeing you all again next year to celebrate our victories and once again find better ways of serving those who need our help.
