HOMELESSNESS

© Mel’s Customised Candles Melbourne, Australia, 2022

Disclaimer: As usual, what is written below is my own personal opinion, and may vary from yours. It doesn’t mean to say either is correct or incorrect, that’s what makes us all Humans.

I was always led to believe, Homeless people were drunks, thieves and lazy people.

However, in 2019, I was lucky to become friends with an amazing Transgender friend of mine, who organised a group of people every month to buy food, non-alcoholic drinks, clothes and toiletries.

Package them up and go out to hand deliver these care packages to the Homeless of Melbourne, Australia.

I was lucky enough to be invited along to help out, and wow, were my eyes opened to these amazing human beings.

I saw young people, some with families, who were in the vicious circle of poverty and honestly broke my heart.

I realised how lucky I was.

Recently, I was in the CBD of Melbourne, and decided to go for a walk to see how they were going.

Would you believe, I never saw any.

I have no idea why, whether, they had found shelter, or had been moved on, I don’t know.

Maybe they were in a soup kitchen.

During Melbourne’s lockdowns, I have constantly thought about these amazing humans, and hoped they were being cared for.

Recently I watched Saved By The Bell: Season 3 Episodes 24 & 25, Home For Christmas.

This storyline could have been ripped from the headlines at the time.

Every time I watch it, I cry, because I used to live in the Inner City of Sydney and saw many Homeless people, and yes, I was an uneducated, narrow minded small person.

Not many know this, but in early 2019, I was briefly Homeless.

But I still had somewhere to sleep:

The first night, I was in Hospital, as I was assaulted, thankfully it was minor.

The 2nd, I fell asleep sitting at a table in my storage unit.

The 3rd and 4th nights, I was lucky to find a room in a cheap hotel.

I posted about my predicament online and a friend offered me a room, where she lived. I ended up living there for just over 15 months.

Yes, Technically I was not homeless, but had I not had these events occur, I could have been.

This is a reason why, when I heard about this group, it was a way for me to give back.

I believe everyone can become homeless in their life time, no matter what we do, circumstances may force to be homeless. Honestly, I never thought I would ever be that close.

One of my goals, is to help the homeless of Melbourne, either by buying a run down property and converting it to suitable SRO’s, and/or employing them at my Production Studio.

Many people simply turn their noses up at homeless people, because most are too selfish, arrogant and uneducated to know better.

Granted, There are professional Homeless people out there, and some who are drunks, thieves and nasty, but that’s a very small percentage.

What I would also like to do, once MCC established.

Every month, buy $5,000 worth of food, non-alcoholic drinks, clothes and toiletries, package them up and go out to hand deliver them to the homeless.

I know it’s a big job, but I believe with your help, as PCCM’s, we can achieve it.

Alone, we barely make a ripple,

However,

2Gether as a group, we will create Tsunamis.

Who Is With Me?