Champion Sydney ice skater overcomes homelessness to chase his dream

A determined 17-year-old Sydney figure skater who fled his home a year ago and now lives in a youth refuge is following his goal of becoming a champion on the national stage.

Emery Kaison appears at home on the ice rink.

Carving up the ice, dipping low as he picks up speed before twisting into a pirouette spin so fast his features blur, 17-year-old Emery Kaison appears at home on the ice rink.

With each competition, performance and podium finish the novice figure skater from southwest Sydney creeps closer and closer to his dream of sporting glory on the national stage.

Most recently, Emery filmed a yet unreleased music video with Melbourne-based outfit Close Counters for their latest album.

Yet despite the collection of accolades under his belt, Emery returns after each training session not to a cosy home with his parents, but a youth refuge.

“Skating was my safe space,” he said.

At 17, Emery Kaison is an up-and-coming figure skater who has faced homelessness and battled mental health issues.

“The skating community and my coaches really helped me get through.

“If I never had that support from them … I feel like I would have just crumbled.”

Working a casual fast-food job to make ends meet, what little spare funds Emery had to cover rink access, costumes and gear, competition entry fees and travel have now run dry, effectively putting his future ambitions on ice.

Semi-retired figure skating coach and former Australian national ice dance champion Chris Stuart has taken Emery under his wing pro-bono – even taking him shopping to buy food at his lowest moments – and said the 17-year-old has “become family”.

“The main reason I’ve stuck by him is because I can see that he has a lot of talent,” he said.

Success in figure skating, he said, is “a combination of the right sort of training, the right sort of attitude and the right sort of conditions”, but “you’ve still got to have a lot of luck on your side”.

“When life is hard, it’s hard to keep your focus,” Mr Stuart said.

“I don’t want to see Emery missing out on something I know he can achieve.”

The young skater fled his home life at the age of 16, bouncing between inner-west sharehouses and youth shelters, and moved schools before eventually dropping out of high school altogether just a few months later.

Mr Kaison fled his home at the age of 16, bouncing between inner-west share houses and youth shelters.

“For most of my life I was in survival mode, and the moment I settled down into a well-supported place the trauma began to erupt,” he explained.

“I made the decision to leave (school) because of that.”

His former teachers and school leaders, he said, had failed to acknowledge the seriousness of his personal situation, instead hanging him out to dry over his academic record.

“School was not anywhere close to a safe space, for the majority of students, to open up about mental health issues,” he said.

“They acted like I was just yapping about being the victim, but in reality I was actually struggling so much.”

According to the latest figures from Homelessness Australia, NSW has the highest number of unaccompanied children seeking support with homelessness, with 7,152 under 18s approaching specialist services in the 2022-23 financial year alone.

Emery, who has been supported by the Salvation Army and the Australian Sports Foundation among other charitable organisations, said other young people who are living in unstable homes or fleeing family conflict should know that help is available.

However, schools and other institutions must do more to support students who are at risk, he said, especially when they explicitly ask for help.

“Their concern shouldn’t be academics first, it should be safety first.”

Originally published as Champion Sydney ice skater overcomes homelessness to chase his dream