Sian: Bright hopes for the future

Sian* knows what homelessness looks like from the inside. Growing up in Melbourne, she spent years moving between refuges and hotels, frequently changing schools, and at times living in the care of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing due to her mother’s long-term drug addiction. She remembers watching her mother line up outside a Homelessness Access Point at 6am, hoping to secure a bed for the night. By the age of 13, Sian had taken on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings. At 16, her mother left and did not return. 

At 17, Sian became pregnant. For many young people in her position, it might have felt like another setback. For Sian, it was the thing that changed everything. 

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she says. “Within two months of knowing I was pregnant, my depression completely went away.” 

Having her own unborn child to focus on allowed Sian to let go of her fractured relationship with her mum. “I decided that I was no longer going to cry over a woman that didn’t love me as much as I loved my unborn child. I would never up and leave my children; I could never contemplate being the mother she was. Becoming a mother made me realise that I wasn’t going to make excuses for my mum any longer.” 

After initially living with her partner’s parents, then in transitional housing, Sian had no rental history to support her applications. Facing the threat of homelessness again while pregnant with her third child, she was referred to the Hope Street First Response Youth Mobile Outreach Service by a Melton City Council housing worker. A Hope Street mobile outreach worker helped her with transport to attend rental inspections and, ultimately, find a three-bedroom house, five minutes from her daughter’s school. 

The  Specialist Outreach worker supported Sian to set up her new home with furniture and a full pantry.When complications following the birth of her youngest required a lengthy hospital stay, Hope Street helped her cover rent and establish a payment plan. 

“I never knew how to look for my own house to rent,” Sian says. “Hope Street taught me how to be a good tenant, to know my rights, how to do everything, and not to be so worried about everything.” 

Having already completed the first year of her chef apprenticeship, Sian plans to return to cooking once her youngest starts kindergarten with a longer-term dream of baking birthday cakes, giving her more time with her kids. Her children, she says simply, are her end goal, and she’s building a life that puts them first. 

*Name changed to protect privacy.