Homeless Person's Week: how Owen was loved back to life
9 August 2018
At the age of just 13, Owen found himself homeless and living on the streets. He quickly became addicted to drugs and alcohol and had already borne witness to more things than most people will see in a lifetime.
"You have never felt fear until you feel that feeling of nothingness. The feeling of being so lost, even though you know where you are."
Masking a deeply troubled past and a chaotic family life, Owen spent the greater part of his adolescence thriving on being a menace to society.
But it didn't stay that way.
“If it wasn’t for the Salvos, I’d probably still be on the streets, in jail or dead,”
Thankfully, Owen found one of our services, the Oasis Youth Support Network. Today, he's a graduate from the Sydney Film School and has a love for music.
Through being supported in building a stable foundation for his life through housing, education, employment and music, Owen now shares his story with others in the hopes to see other young people and those doing it tough find the support they need.
"They are my family, they literally loved me back to life."
Owen shared his journey on Channel Nine's TODAY Show and along with Major Paul Moulds, spoke with Georgie Gardener about the common misconceptions around homelessness as part of Homeless Persons week.
