Alli Simpson’s eye-opening homecoming

WITH a successful recording career in the US and a famous tight-knit family, Alli Simpson seems to have it all. So how does she cope when everything gets taken away?

Alli Simpson: “The biggest learning curve was being confronted with being alone.” (Pic: Dave Wheeler for Stellar)

NO phone. No wallet. And no toothbrush. Not even a hair tie. The only things Alli Simpson was allowed to have during the 10 days she spent homeless on the streets of Sydney were a sleeping bag and the clothes on her back. And even those weren’t hers.

“The clothes I had on were taken from me and I was just put in simple clothing — a T-shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers,” Simpson tells Stellar. “I was sent out into the streets with nothing. It was a really weird feeling. Going into it, I didn’t think it was going to be as hard as it was once everything was gone, and it was just me and my soul.”

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“Going into it, I didn’t think it was going to be as hard as it was once everything was gone, and it was just me and my soul.” (Pic: Dave Wheeler for Stellar)

The 20-year-old singer is one of five high-profile Australians who signed up to participate in Season 2 of SBS’s Filthy Rich & Homeless, a social experiment that pits the wealthy and privileged against the unforgiving streets of the nation’s most expensive city.

The latest Census shows that 116,427 Australians have no place to call home, so Simpson felt it was important to do more than just commit a few numbers to memory. But she still hesitated before agreeing to jump in.

Simpson “living rough” for SBS’s Filthy Rich & Homeless.

“I was nervous,” Simpson admits. “It’s definitely not the easiest thing to be involved in. But I knew it would be a life-changing and humbling experience, and I knew it would help a lot of people. That’s what drove me to do it.”

This is not the first time she has been involved with efforts to raise awareness around social causes. Her previous role as Youth Engagement Officer on Radio Disney in the US when she was 17 proved she could be a passionate advocate for anti-bullying and equality.

“I was always the kid at school that would sit with the kid who was eating lunch alone,” says Simpson who, along with entertainer brother Cody, 21, was raised on the Gold Coast.

“I knew it would be a life-changing and humbling experience, and I knew it would help a lot of people.” (Pic: Dave Wheeler for Stellar)

“There were the tables where all the people would be eating together with their friends, and there would be one person sitting by themselves. I would always go over and say ‘Are you OK?’ or eat lunch with them. I didn’t care what anyone else thought. That made me happy.”

It would be easy to write the singer off as just “Cody Simpson’s little sister”. But after eight years of living overseas, she is determined to continue building a career all of her own, one that does not rely on a relative or surname. But that’s not to say the label has ever bothered her.

“Cody and I are really close,” she explains. (He also lives in the LA area.) “I couldn’t tell you one time we’ve ever had an argument. For me, there was no jealousy, or feeling like I was in his shadow. I’m proud to be his sister. Cody definitely helped me get started and helped me build a fan base early on. But now it’s cool that I’ve finally figured out what I like and want to do.”

With her family: from left, brother Tom, father Brad, Cody, mother Angie and dog Buddy.

The whole family is tight-knit. Her parents and younger brother Tom, 14, moved back to the Gold Coast in June after living in LA for close to a decade while the siblings pursued their dreams. “My main inspirations would be Mum and Dad, and then Cody, and Tom even. I take something from each of them every day,” she says.

She is particularly proud of her father, Brad, who recently opened up about the abuse he suffered as a child and through to his teenage years. Simpson says her father told the family only a few years ago what had happened to him and, while it wasn’t easy to hear, that it has brought them all closer.

Alli Simpson features in this week’s issue of Stellar.

“Everything makes so much more sense when you hear about someone’s story and why they are the way they are,” Simpson says. “It breaks my heart; I cry about it. But I’m so proud of him talking about it openly in the public, which is something I thought he would never do. People are thanking him for talking about his story because it helps them talk about theirs.”

The singer is hopeful that by taking part in Filthy Rich & Homeless, she can foster the same sort of response among viewers. “The biggest learning curve for me was being confronted with being alone — having no-one and realising that’s what a lot of people deal with on a day-to-day basis,” she says.

Simpson admits to bursting into tears as soon as she walked back into her apartment in LA and seeing “all this stuff that is so unnecessary”. She relished the simple things — bobby pins, water and soap — and has vowed to keep the experience front of mind moving forward.

“I met all these people along the way, a lot of homeless youth. And the thought of me being able to step back into my normal life, but they have to continue to live like that for the next however long, it haunts you. I still think about them.”

Filthy Rich & Homeless Season 2 airs 8.30pm, Tuesday August 14 to Thursday August 16, on SBS. A special live studio program will air directly after episode three.

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Originally published as Alli Simpson’s eye-opening homecoming