Mum’s life on the road
Homeless Connect helps put a roof over her head
SHE had a life that revolved around her four children and a full-time job in childcare, but a few years ago Kathy Graham lost all she cared about most.
As her marriage crumbled and custody battles grew too much to bear, the 43-yearold found herself in a “dark place’’, moving between shelters, friends and relatives’ houses.
Eventually she was left living in her car, curled up in the tray of a ute with only her St Bernard Brioche for company, a life she said many people could not possibly understand.
“It’s just normal stuff that you can’t do, you can’t do a load of washing, you can’t watch TV, you can’t charge a mobile phone,” she said.
“And you don’t have anywhere to go, you can’t sleep properly. It makes you depressed and you just can’t function as a human being.”
Her story isn’t an uncommon one, particularly among homeless women across the Gold Coast.
“There’s so much domestic violence, and women leave with basically nothing,” she said.
“The refuge might take you for three months but then you have nowhere to go, the housing wait list is so long.”
It wasn’t until a visit to a Homeless Connect event last year that Ms Graham turned her life around.
She is now living in a home, working in a bakery and trying to get her family back.
“I now work, I now contribute, I have a place to call home, I can go out to the letter box and get mail again, I can make a cup of tea,” she said.
Homeless Connect has launched its 11th annual drive, calling on Gold Coasters to donate clothing, toiletries and non-perishable food.
For more information about the event, or the nearest collection point, contact Gold Coast Youth Service on (07) 55720400.