Moving towards a new life — Adam’s story

“It was especially hard to cope in the winter. Piercing wind and rain. It was terrible. There’s nothing worse than walking around all day freezing cold and soaked to the skin.”

Adam left his small town in the far west corner of Australia and moved to the east coast in search of new opportunities — to work at his dream job, build a career and a new life for himself. Instead, Adam found himself alone in a big, cold, unforgiving city – thousands of kilometres away from family and friends, with everything he owned stolen, and not a cent in his pocket.

Struggling in the city

Adam quickly found that life in the city was hard, just like the one he had left. In fact, it was harder. With no support to help him on his feet, Adam stayed in a cheap accommodation, watching people come and go as he looked for work.

One bit of bad luck suddenly changed it all.

Adam’s backpack was stolen. Without his papers and ID, he had no way to prove who he was and find a job. Soon enough, he had to move out of the hostel he was staying at.

“I ran out of what little savings I had left. There was no other way but to move out and live on the streets. I had nowhere else to go.”

Surviving on the streets

It was winter when Adam first faced homelessness. The city streets were bitterly cold — a hard place to be for a country boy from the west, who knew only sunshine and open spaces.

”Living on the streets is really hard,” says Adam. “It was especially hard to cope in the winter. Piercing wind and rain. It was terrible. There’s nothing worse than walking around all day freezing cold and soaked to the skin.”

“It’s hard knowing what to do with yourself for the whole day, every day. Mostly I walked. It’s easier if you’re moving. I learned how to survive.” When Adam was first forced to live on the streets, the weather was not the only thing he struggled with. It was dangerous too.

“Everyone was out for themselves. You couldn’t trust anyone. I had an incident where I got a few punches in the face. But it was minor compared to what happens to some people. I was lucky not to be badly hurt.”

“I spent months walking all over the city looking for a place to sleep in peace, a place that was safe,” recounts Adam. Alone and desperately trying to make the best of what he had, Adam felt too ashamed to call home and admit that things had gone so badly wrong that he was now on the street.

Support from the Salvos

Adam found the Salvos when he needed it most, and was supported with wraparound services to start his journey towards a new life.

“The Salvos gave me the chance to get back to a normal life again. I’m so grateful.”