The dangerous reality of sleeping rough on South Australian streets

Grant Thamm never thought he’d be homeless. But when sleeping in a Hungry Jack’s carpark was his only option, Mr Thamm was forced to navigate the dangers of the street.

An Orange Sky mobile laundry van is parked in the Vinnies carpark off Elizabeth Way on Wednesday night.

Volunteers from across Adelaide have come to Langford Dr to wash and dry the clothes of Adelaide’s homeless population.

Kids dressed in worn pyjamas lie close to each other and their parents as they wait for the washing machine cycle to finish.

Most haven’t worn clean clothes in weeks.

Some haven’t eaten in days and are eagerly waiting for neighbouring Fred’s Van to open to serve sausage rolls and Dutch pancakes with ice cream.

A young boy no older than 11 beams when he sees the menu.

A gaggle of children between the ages of eight and 14 congregate when one suggests the group “get drunk” as they wait.

They leave the carpark to each “drink a bottle”.

Among the group is 55-year-old Grant Thamm who told The Advertiser he’d experienced sleeping rough six times throughout his life.

Grant Thamm has been homeless in the past and was at Elizabeth for one of the twice-weekly Orange Sky mobile laundry services. Picture: Dean Martin

“I didn’t think it would happen to me,” he said. “This could happen to anyone.”

In early 2016 Mr Thamm found himself divorced and having to leave behind a home he’d helped pay off in full.

He hadn’t been working full-time for eight years since he was made redundant after Bridgestone tyre factory closed down – he’d worked there for 20 years.

“I couldn’t find somewhere to rent – so I started sleeping in my car,” he said.

When Mr Thamm went to Housing SA for help he said: “I was told, ‘do you have a car?’, ‘yes’, I said, ‘well you aren’t homeless’ was the reply”.

“I put my life into storage taking a blanket, pillow and minimal clothes and toiletries which I kept in the boot,” he said.

“I started sleeping in the carpark at Hungry Jacks, Salisbury.

“In mid-June I turned 48, happy birthday – homeless, down and out,” he said.

Orange Sky operates 14 shifts a week including at Langford Drive on Wednesday and Sunday nights. Picture: Dean Martin

Over what would be the next four months Mr Thamm filled his days with rental applications, of which he made hundreds, and reading at Tea Tree Gully library.

One night a man threatened to stab Mr Thamm with a knife he was holding up to him.

“He said if I let him in the car he wouldn’t hurt me,” he said.

Mr Thamm let him inside his ‘home’ before he managed to take back control of his vehicle and speed away.

“I learnt a lesson (that night), I was vulnerable and I needed to be careful,” he said.

Mr Thamm, who doesn’t use drugs, alcohol or smokes, said the streets were filled with violence, crime and dangerous people.

Each night wasn’t about just surviving the cold or the heat, but making sure you didn’t become a victim of whatever it was that was out there waiting for you.

Volunteer Tanya Roylance said Orange Sky wasn’t just about washing and drying clothes but the “connection” volunteers make with their clients. Picture: Dean Martin

When Mr Thamm finally found a rental in Elizabeth North he said the first thing he did was have a shower.

“Nothing beats having a shower in your own place,” he said.

When Mr Thamm locked the door the first night in his new home he said he finally felt safe.

An SA Housing Authority spokeswoman said Housing SA did not regard people living in a car as having a home and they have assisted Mr Thamm with renting a property privately.

“When people make an application for public housing, we first check their eligibility and if eligible, they are triaged according to their level of need, with the most urgent cases triaged a Category 1,” the spokeswoman said.

“Because demand is so high, Housing SA almost exclusively allocates housing to people in Category 1.

“We also provide through the Private Rental Assistance Program with the upfront costs of renting such as bond and rent in advance and also rent in arrears to prevent people losing their private rental property.

“We have provided Mr Thamm with assistance through this program.”

Orange Sky volunteer Tanya Roylance said she’d met many people like Mr Thamm who never suspected they’d find themselves without a roof over their heads.

“Some of us are probably two pay cheques away from needing to access some sort of help,” she said.

She said Orange Sky in South Australia was on the hunt for eager volunteers.

This Homelessness Week, August 6 – 13, Orange Sky is calling on South Australians take part in ‘The Sudsy Challenge’, where participants raise awareness and funds for Orange Sky while not changing their clothes for three days this September.

Sign up here.

Originally published as The dangerous reality of sleeping rough on South Australian streets