Qld battlers tell their stories of homeless, cost-of-living crises

Queensland’s political hopefuls may have tried to sway voters but one young person wasn’t impressed.

Brave Queensland battlers have told their stories at the head-to-head between Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.

SLEPT IN A GRAVEYARD

Dawn Simpson has slept in a cemetery.

She’s also slept in garages, back yards, squatted in abandoned homes and along creeks and rivers.

The 57-year-old mother of two, who lives in Cairns and travelled to Brisbane to tell her story to the state’s leaders, understands the vulnerability of being homeless.

“You become isolated, you don’t know who you are, and it’s a hard thing to get that back in your life – your identity,” Ms Simpson said.

As a young woman, Ms Simpson said she worked hard at her job and raising two children.

She had a home.

But the trauma of child sexual abuse she had buried for decades roared back into her life in her late 30s just as her kids became old enough to leave home.

“I started remembering everything, and it was like, everything was dark and where the lightning flashed we can see the scenes,” Ms Simpson said.

Dawn Simpson | Picture: David Clark

Her life went into a downward spiral, with the mental health challenges of working through the trauma, alcoholism and a toxic relationship rocking the foundations of her life.

She sees the complexities of her story in the growing homeless population in Cairns. And she wants political leaders to take action.

Ms Simpson said some people need to learn how to stand before they can walk, because many have lost their balance.

They also need stability that comes with a safe roof over their heads.

Ms Simpson sought help for her mental health struggles, before becoming involved with Anglicare – with the service helping her secure safe shelter.

“(They’ve) given me the opportunity to regain my independence,” she said.

The self-contained unit Ms Simpson lives in is her “throne”.

She feels respected, like she’s regained her identity. Ms Simpson can plan for the future now, and she’s confident it will take shape.

Rodney Tegen | Picture: David Clark

‘COULDN’T STAND ANY MORE’

Rodney Tegen is staring down the barrel of sleeping rough for the second time in his life. He experienced homelessness over 15 years ago after a hostile divorce and time spent as a “functioning drug user” saw him lose shared properties and his hairdressing business.

“I worked so hard ...six days plus four nights a week, and then worked on my business on a Monday, so I had a Sunday off where I was comatose because I couldn’t stand any more,” he said.

“I worked so hard to lift myself out of my station and go up, then it was just gone.”

His plight has been marred with adversity, he suffered abuse and was adopted as a child, he now has no living relatives and the food vouchers he relies on to eat only feed him for 10 days out of a fortnight. He speaks about surviving his past matter-of-factly.

“I can’t go to a shopping centre job, I can’t stand for 12 hours any more, I’ve got no education even though I was the CEO of a major company that was worth millions,” he said.

What brings Mr Tegen to tears is thinking of his future. His landlord will not renew the lease and the date to vacate by is fast approaching. He is ineligible for public housing, being a single adult male precludes him from many support services, and he will likely need to “call his car home” again.

“I’ve been abused all my childhood, I’ve been homeless and I feel really unsafe again now, I’m struggling with mental health because I don’t have a home,” he said.

“I can’t tell you how devastated I am, I have no one to help me, I’m on my own except my housemate and we stick together. He’s autistic and had a full breakdown, then I’m too busy looking after him to go look for houses … I’ve already cleaned the car just in case.”

For the past six years Mr Tegen said he had been able to feel comfort in the stability of a private rental, but now that hangs in the balance and he asked the leaders to detail a path he could take toward home ownership.

Sonya Denooyer | Picture: David Clark

OWN HOME OUT OF REACH

A 24-year-old Queensland student told the state’s political leaders rental cost increases have forced her into an unmanageable work schedule to make ends meet while she studies.

Sonya Denooyer told Premier Steven Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli she studies her Masters in Religion for 30 hours a week but must work an additional 25 hours a week just to get by.

This includes rent which she said last month increased from $660 to $800 a week. She has been forced to move houses four times in the past two years.

“I don’t feel like either of them addressed how young people can find their footing in an increasingly expensive Queensland, they just have no clue,” she said.

“It’s one thing to say you want to help and you want to be there, but you just you can’t get it, which I understand and I empathise with, they can’t put themselves in everyone’s shoes.”

Acknowledging both leaders are landlords and have declared rental income – Mr Crisafulli owns three properties while Mr Miles owns four – she pondered if their responses would be different if they were renters.

“Things are being rolled out for landlords to implement, they’re not going to, they don’t talk to me and the idea of owning a home, it’s just not going to happen for me,” she said.

As she does not feel home ownership is a possibility for young people like herself, she hoped to hear more empathy from both party leaders.

“It just kind of didn’t feel like either really got it, sometimes it feels like they’re listening is a bit off – but I do feel like Steven Miles has a bit more of a warmth to him,” she said. “There’s always that side of, you want to help the tenants but you’re always backing the landlords.”

Ms Denooyer said the stage one rental reform and the minimum housing standards were helpful but slow changes.

“It’s just not it’s not happening fast enough, and that whole thing about the implications of a rental cap could have a negative impact, I’m like, negative for who?” she asked.

Tracey Tewksbury | Picture: David Clark

‘FELT SAFER HOMELESS’

A domestic violence survivor has shared the harrowing story of being forced to live with her child in a car for almost a year.

Tracey Tewksbury called for more support for women escaping abusive relationships – especially in dealing with the mental scars so many victims are forced to carry after escaping violent situations.

The brave survivor said her situation had become so dangerous “the option of being homeless was safer than living in the house”.

“The fallout for me is that we became homeless, and I had to live for 11 months in my car with my child,” she said.

“I finally got a home through the Department of Housing. I was kind of broken down at that point.

“I walked into this townhouse and I had my clothes on my back, an old rug I threw on the ground, a doona and a pillow and I slept on the concrete floor that night.”

Ms Tewksbury, supported through Project’s Brisbane Domestic Violence Service, ended up checking herself into the hospital shortly after, saying she suffered a nervous breakdown after being homeless for so long.