It took 50-year-old New Farm resident Cindy seven years to gain access to stable accommodation through social housing.

“I had to wait for seven years but I really like the location because I’m close to a library and I can get the free ferry to the city or walk a lot of places. I have some dodgy neighbors who steal things off the clothing lines, drink, smoke and gamble but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve decided it’s better to have a roof over your head especially when it rains rather than moving around so much,” Cindy said.

Before being housed, Cindy was on the street searching for a safe place to rest. “I was on the street for two and a half years initially. I couch surfed a lot. I lived in short-term accommodation. I did share rooms and things. A social worker I met rented me a room for $50 in Beenleigh. And I would stay with people – they were happy to put in a good word for me because I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs, and I don’t steal from people.”

“When I first got into housing, I wasn’t coming to Rosies as much because people would say to me, ‘You can’t go there, you’ve got accommodation’ but I’m not wealthy and the Rosies people never said that to me.”

“‘When I was homeless, I had someone (at Rosies) who consistently talked to me. I like those friendships even if it’s not the same volunteers every time – you can just chat to people.”

“I live by myself and I don’t necessarily feel lonely very often but that’s why I think I’m quite a smart person. Not because I can solve all my problems, but because I know who to go to for help. I know if I’m lonely I can go to Rosies and have a drink and a chat and then I’m happy for the rest of the day.”

“I think the world is a lot harder, with all the stabbings and all the murders and things, when you can go and talk to people that are just kind to you and they don’t need to know your whole life story but they don’t treat you like you’re less of a person because you’ve got no money or because of your situation.”

Cindy also spoke about the social interaction that she gets from attending outreach, saying that it’s not something that she can easily find elsewhere. “I’m a mature aged student so while I talk to the other students a lot of them are 22 and don’t really want to socialise with a 50-yearold. A lot of the women that have come back to school as mature aged students have got kids, so they don’t wanna sit around and study because they’ve gotta rush home and you know, take care of their kids. So, I don’t have the social outlets that I would like.”

At Rosies things are different for Cindy, “When you come to places like this and you can have a conversation, well this just changes things because I don’t need to feel sorry for myself constantly. It is just nice to have people talk to you like you’re a human being.”

“When I first was homeless, I would stay away from Rosies because I was a little scared of the other people. But when I talked to a volunteer, it was so lovely, and they encouraged me to come for a while, and I realised you don’t have to spend hours there. You can come in, get food, a drink, a chat, and be on your way. But the volunteers will take you aside and have a conversation and just touch base.”

“When you’ve got no one and you’re homeless, it makes a big, big difference. They get to know you and they care. It’s just like if you went missing, would anyone know and report you? And so, when you could get to see regular volunteers, they know you’re alive and they go, ‘oh how are you going? How is study? How is this, how is that?’ And you feel like you’ve got purpose again. And then when you talk to people regularly and they ask how you are, it makes you feel like you’re a normal person.”

“I grew up middle class, I went to a good school, my dad loves me. I’ve got it better than most. I think when you grow up poorer you get used to a little bit less from society. Like when Centrelink treats me like dirt, housing commission treats me like dirt, people who grew up in the housing commission are aware of that when you are middle class you think ‘no they can’t treat you like this’ and they shouldn’t, but that’s not how the world works.”

“(at Rosies) it’s just nice to have someone fuss over you. And I don’t wanna cry, but people don’t fuss over you when you’re broke.”

“You know, if you are a celebrity, people fuss over you constantly, but if you’ve got no money, people don’t give a sh*t. So, it’s nice just to have someone treat you a bit special.”

“Last week when I came here, I asked Sam for a milo, and he made it but as he was giving me the cup, he felt that it wasn’t hot enough and he wanted to remake it because it wasn’t perfect. And I was like, ‘dude, calm down, you’re a volunteer. You made me a drink; I’ll still drink it.’ But he wanted it to be just right for me.”

“To have people worried about your feelings, that’s not a common thing. So to have people just wanna treat you like a human being, I don’t think people realise how often that doesn’t happen.”

“I think most people are walking around on their phones like zombies. And they’re not necessarily being rude, but sometimes people bump into you and don’t even apologize. So for people to actually listen to you and just make sure that you are okay, I mean I didn’t have to have a new drink, but he just couldn’t have been nicer to me.”

“It’s good for me to get out of the house and be with good people. I could sit there and say poor me I was abused as a child, and I have anxiety and depression, but I could also go somewhere and be treated with kindness.”

“I worked when I was homeless and studied when I was homeless, but my mental illness is a bit worse now than it was then. But you know, I’m trying to study and trying to work on my issues and hopefully one day I’ll get some more part-time work and move out of housing commission”

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