What taking away ‘encampment equipment’ means when you’re homeless

I’ve heard that Port Phillip Council is talking about taking away people’s things if they’re sleeping rough and in the way.

And you know what? I get it.

Mattresses and sleeping bags lying around the city – it’s not a good look. Melbourne is a beautiful place, and it shouldn’t be like that.

But maybe you don’t know what those things mean to someone who’s homeless. I do know – because I was homeless, sometimes for years at a time.

Being homeless is hard. When it first happened to me, I didn’t think I was like other people who were homeless. I didn’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I never begged on the street because I didn’t want other people to pay my way.

Once I got used to places like clothing vans and charities, I started building things up. I had a bed donated to me, a portable camping wardrobe, clothes, shoes, a portable toilet, chairs. I was sleeping in Fitzroy, near the local legal service.

Yes, it was a public place. And that’s because it’s not safe for a woman on the street. I got robbed, I got my ID stolen, I got beaten up, I got threatened by men who wanted me to sleep with them. So I needed to sleep somewhere where other people could see if something happened to me.

One day, the council took all my things away. By the time I worked out where to go to get them back, they’d already destroyed them.

Those were all my worldly possessions at the time. That was where I was sleeping, where I was laying my hat. When they were taken from me, it affected me mentally.

I had to start all over again in a new area. I had to work out where to get food, clothing, a sleeping bag again. It was all new, and I couldn’t trust people again.

Maybe you’re thinking, why didn’t she get a house? I was on the waiting list for years. Every time I asked, they said the same thing: “There’s nothing available. And there’s many people ahead of you.”

By the time I got into transitional housing, I’d spent so long on the street that I struggled with being inside. It’s a strange feeling – you have to get used to being housed again.

So I have a few things I want to say to councillors at the City of Port Phillip.

• If you’re homeless, you’re a target. You’re constantly thinking about your safety, and that’s why you sleep in public places.
• By confiscating someone’s bed or clothes, you’re taking everything they have. Having nothing to wear, nothing on your feet – it’s demeaning. You lose your mind.
• If you don’t want people to leave their belongings in the street, give them lockers where they can store them. I’ve had my ID stolen because I had nowhere safe to keep it.
• If you do have to take people’s things, give them time to get them back. Hold them for a week or two, don’t just throw them out. Those things aren’t easy to come by.
• There’s lots of services now – Sacred Heart Mission, Salvation Army, St Kilda Gatehouse, the St Kilda Crisis Centre. But you have to learn where everything is. So maybe do some outreach, help people find those services, instead of taking their things and forcing them to move on.

Thank you for listening to me.

Catherine

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