Roos fan like Dad – same scarf, same team since 7.
Experienced homelessness.
Now safely housed.
The community and culture are so meaningful. At live games, the environment is something else - that sense of belonging, being part of something.
My dad goes for North Melbourne. Growing up anything he did I wanted to do, so when I had to pick between him and mum’s team I went with his. Everyone on my dad’s side went for North Melbourne. The Grand Final was always a nice day. Even if our team wasn’t playing we’d still have a BBQ and family would come around. At primary school we had footy colours day, so I have early memories of going shopping for that. I’ve had this scarf since I was 7.
When I was younger, I just wanted to be like dad, but as I got older I got into footy more for myself and for connection with friends.
I grew up in Yorta Yorta land and I went to high school with our captain, Jy Sympkin, who is a proud Yorta Yorta man. I love to see someone from my hometown flourish and thrive. I grew up in one of the lowest socio-economic towns in Victoria so there's a bit of an underdog theme. I strive to enhance my allyship all the time so I just love seeing someone from a marginalised background making a name for themselves. Especially through the lens of youth homelessness there’s an overrepresentation of first nations people, which is such an injustice.
The community and the culture are meaningful to me. Each weekend if me and my partner don’t commute down to the city to watch the AFL we’ll be watching it at home, or the pub or local footy club. But watching a live game, the environment is just something else. You really have to be there to know how it feels. That sense of belonging and being part of something, it’s so energising.
We need to strip away the stigma and stereotypes about what homelessness looks like. Youth homelessness doesn’t always refer to sleeping rough. It can be couch surfing or prolonged sleepovers at friends’ houses. Youth homelessness is so different to adult homelessness . You can’t sign a lease at 16. If you are trying to study and live out of home you have to work, but how can you work enough to get by when you are at school? We need a lot of multi-faceted supports for young people.... They don’t have the options and resources that adults might have. It’s more than just a roof over their heads.
Just because it’s not happening in your backyard doesn’t mean it’s not happening in the backyard next door to you. It’s happening all around us. It’s happening to someone you know. I think the stigma and labels of homelessness can really limit their aspirations and self-belief as well as the people around them.
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