Two towns like Alice

When I was about 8 years old - when my Dad locked me, my sister and my Mum out of the house and we spent a good chunk of the night sleeping in the garden shed - I got a fleeting glimpse of what life might be like to have nowhere safe to call home.

Every night of every year in Australia, there are 45,000 children living outside their home, in care.? That’s roughly the population of a town like?Wagga Wagga, or Port Macquarie, or Shepparton; or two towns the size of Alice Springs. There′s no doubt for many this is necessary and appropriate.? The question is - what happens next?

45,000. On Tuesday this week Anchor held a panel session discussing how this problem plays out.? For many, it is not a happy outcome: within 3 years of leaving residential care, 50% will be homeless and 70% will need acute mental health care.?

To be clear, nobody wants this to be true.

45,000. There’s no magic bullet.? This is a complex multi-faceted problem, from its origins to its unfolding story for those caught up in it - those who have not yet developed the resources to deal with it.? No home often means not completing education, no job, and no way of addressing mental health issues that their circumstances bring on.

45,000.? All individuals, with a story all of their own.

45,000. But there are bright spots.? Anchor’s MyLife program aims to help young people transition into an adult life of their own choosing.? By giving them a safe, stable home, surrounding them with the most extraordinarily passionate, skilled and caring professionals, providing education on how to cook, run a budget, look after a house, finish education, apply for benefits, apply for a job – they get the leg up they need.? The rest is their own determination to get what they deserve – a fair go.

45,000.? Anchor can’t do this for everyone.? But we can do it for more.? If we have your help.? If you want to know how, visit the website? Anchor MyLife Project – Anchor Community Care, contact me, or any of the Directors or CEO. The impact is clear: https://vimeo.com/1014616863.

I’m 58.? I can still remember the smell of the shed. But I got lucky, and had help.