Catherine – Staying safe while sleeping rough

2 September 2026

A woman standing at a lectern in front of an audience.

Lived experience advocate Catherine Aloise delivered the keynote address at our second Advocacy Forum at RMIT University's Kaleide Theatre.

These are her insights on what can be done to protect those who are least safe in our communities.

Hi everyone.

Now that you’ve seen me on video, you get to see me in person. It’s even better, right?

I hope you can now see how special the Women’s House is. I still go there, every week. Because it gives me structure. It gives me routine. It makes me feel safe. There’s a feeling of connection with the women who go in and out, and the workers I got to know over the years.

That’s important to me.

Today we’re talking about community safety. And I wanted to share some of my experiences of being homeless and trying to stay safe.

It was almost 20 years ago. And now I have a great place of my own, near Chapel Street. But I’ve never forgotten what it was like, and I still see women having these experiences every day.

Being homeless and living on the streets is inhumane. It’s lonely. It’s scary. You live with a feeling of emptiness and despair.

You don’t know which way to turn. Or where to go. Or where your next meal is coming from. Or who you can trust.

My bag was stolen not long after I became homeless, with all my identification. I couldn’t even walk into my own bank and prove who I was. I couldn’t access services because I had no photo ID.

So I had to start from scratch.

I started going to clothing vans and charities. I had a bed donated to me, a portable camping wardrobe, clothes, shoes, a portable toilet, and chairs. I was sleeping in Fitzroy near the Aboriginal Language Centre.

Yes, it was a public place. And that’s because of safety.

If you’re a woman in a public area, you’re visible. You’re not hidden away where someone can hurt you without anyone noticing. When there are lights and people walking past, you’re more protected.

Then one day the council removed all my belongings.

It took me a week to find out where they’d put them. When I got there, I was told they’d already been destroyed.

I want you to understand what I lost that day. It wasn’t junk.

It was all my worldly possessions. It was bedding that charities had given me. It was clothes that kept me warm and night.It was my shoes.

It was the only photos of my children that I still had.

I felt empty. I thought, “How can anyone do this?” It made me feel as though I had done something wrong, when I hadn’t. I was simply homeless and trying to survive.

I had to start all over again in a new area. I waited for clothing services to come around and gradually collected clothes again.

And I got help, from Southside Justice and Sacred Heart Mission. So I still volunteer to help them, even today.

So I want to say this to you all.

Homeless people are not bad people.

They may be unable to pay rent, get overwhelmed by bills or have other challenges.

Be a little more lenient, caring and understanding.

I get why councils might want to take people’s things away. Mattresses and sleeping bags lying in the street is not a good look.

But when you take someone’s worldly possessions, you make them frustrated and distressed. You make them angry. It doesn’t make anyone safer.

There should be lockers where people can store their belongings safely, so they don’t get stolen or taken away.

There should be enough police to keep people safe, but the police could be more lenient, caring and understanding.

A woman on a stage is being congratulated for giving a speech by another women who is MCing the event.

Give people a chance.

Reach out and help. Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand what they’re going through.

We live in a digital world, where image and appearance have become what we think is important. But I encourage you to get back to reality and remember what really matters: human beings and human rights.

Housing is a human right.

Thank you for listening and taking the time to hear my story.

And please keep supporting Sacred Heart Mission. They do important work that helps many people.