Real People, Real Stories:

These stories come from youths who either have found their feet with the help of Brisbane Youth Service, or are still struggling to piece their lives together. Here you will find some personal recounts by the young people whom we help on daily basis.

Natasha Attard (Gypsy), 23:

Despite being part of a loving, affluent family with plenty of money to go round Natasha ended up on the streets. She had three older brothers and as a result she experienced massive restrictions in what she was and wasn't allowed to do by her parents and rebelled as many young teenage kids do. This is where Natasha's story differs from others.

She moved in with an older boyfriend at the tender age of 15, despite the fact she was still going to school and being supported by her partner things went downhill and fast.

"I was being harassed by this 37 year old lady, who didn't want me to have her daughter around at my place. She bashed and bashed me, I was so beaten and bruised and the cops wouldn't help me- so I ran away, I saw it as the only way I could get away from this woman," Natasha said.

Running away to Brisbane meant that Natasha left school and all of the support networks she had in her hometown of Mackay. "I knew nobody here - I regret moving, I missed all of my senior year, left all my friends behind, I didn't want to leave my friends."

In Brisbane, without money and no-one to turn to, Natasha ended up on the street and got into taking drugs. "Despite the fact some people took me in their care on the street, I went through a drugs stage but didn't like it - I took Speed, Ice, Ecstasy, Cocaine, Fantasy this went on for a while."

Natasha got to a low point and finally asked for help which is when she turned to Brisbane Youth Service. "I asked for help and they sent me to Sydney to live with my uncle for a while, to get myself sorted out. They bought the bus ticket and paid for everything."

Natasha lived with her uncle for four years between the ages of 16-20, during this time she was still taking drugs, although not as heavily, which is when she fell pregnant.

"I stopped as soon as I found out and moved straight home to Mackay to be with my parents- falling pregnant brought me back closer to them again," she said.

Now Natasha has a two year old daughter named Oreca, she is in accommodation with full time custody and lives to support her. Natasha works really hard in her job to earn extra money for herself and her daughter.

Natasha is now a role model for other homeless youth to turn to for advice, and she reckons the best thing about being homeless was the reality check. "I was from a rich family, so I would have snubbed homeless people so I guess it was an extended kind of reality check, one I don't want to do again."

Adele Parkinson, 23:

When her Mum fell sick and required 24 hour care and her Dad became the sole carer for both of them, Adele's life took a downhill turn. She was placed in foster care for around two and a half years before she ran away to find a different life on the streets.

Adele has slept all over Brisbane city, calling a church doorstep home, dental hospital, even a fire escape in a popular shopping centre on the Queen St Mall.

"The pastor at the church was really nice, as long as we kept it tidy he was fine. He was good to talk to about my problems and stuff and always had coffee on hand."

Adele says the worst experience about being on the street is the way people look at you like you don't exist- like you're a lower form of life and like you are the dirt on their shoes and they think they are higher than you in some way.

She believes the biggest causes of continual homelessness are mental health issues, drug abuse and the homeless community that forms.

"It's hard not to get caught up in the crap that goes on, the rumours, the beatings, and the politics of street living."

Adele is not homeless anymore, she has found permanent accommodation and looks after herself financially, despite this she still struggles.

"Sometimes when it gets tough (financially and mentally) I wonder whether I should just go back on the streets- but the mood is different out there now and I want a better future for myself," she said.

Adele still visits Brisbane Youth Service because she knows she still has a lot of stuff to work through. "They give me opportunities I wouldn't otherwise have. Next week I get to go to personal training in the Valley. This place is like my second home, its great to see my friends, muck around with workers and just be comfortable here," she said.

The only thing they could do better she reckons is have more workers to continue to do the work they are doing.

"Its hard for them to give each person support when it gets busy and when their resources are stretched."

John Doe

John became homeless after difficulties with his Dad and home-life. His Dad basically forgot about his three children when he remarried and set up life with a new family.

He moved from Townsville to Brisbane with his brother, who used John's Centrelink pay to get himself high. "He didn't support me; he used it for his habits, to get off his head in general, weed, speed and alcohol. I got involved when I was 14," he said.

John recognises that he was a delinquent when he was younger which has now followed him into adult life and the fact that he lived in housing commission made him a ‘rough-head'.

"I have never maintained stability; I have always tried to build stuff on a foundation that's not there." John said.

And when asked why he can't seem to get ontop and live a ‘normal' life he responds,

"I'm unfamiliar with a normal life, my brain, the way I think even with trusting people, what I talk about, the next person wouldn't understand. I've lowered my standards in a way."

John thinks once you become homeless it's harder to get out and have a go for yourself because of the community you get drawn into.

"You gotta stick together to get through. It's harder to be against them (the group) and its easier to make stupid decisions when your down and out. "Being on the streets is a reality check, realising what's real and what's not, in a way I know I'm not doing the right thing but I can't stop."

Day to day survival is pretty much top of the agenda for John and trying to avoid parole violation and getting locked up.

"I have stolen to survive which some people would say is a sin, but I think greed is a sin. I have worked to get nowhere, some people in this life have green lights," he said.

The ways in which Brisbane Youth Service have helped John out are by way of a sanctuary where he feels he can come and get away from his mates for a bit who don't think they need the service.

"It's a place where I know I can get a feed, some moral support through talking to the workers- it gives me a better state of mind and is somewhere to crash, have a shower, wash my clothes, chill out and use the computers."