Jon’s Story: Breaking unhelpful cycles to overcome homelessness
Jon’s journey to finding a permanent home was challenging, but a rewarding one. When Dianne, Homes First Case Coordinator, first started working with Jon in February, Jon had already experienced homelessness for 18 years.
Jon had a cluster of tents that he lived out of, that he had named ‘lounge tent’, ‘kitchen tent’ and ‘bedroom tent’ etc.
Now, Dianne, his Case Coordinator says Jon takes pride in looking after his new home, often finding him cleaning or fixing something around the house.
“Jon grew up as an ‘army brat,’ moving around a lot and living overseas because of his dad’s role in the military. His dad was pretty ‘straight-down-the-line’. (This) possibly created a bit of conflict and (has had) a negative impact on him, as Jon struggled with every day tasks due to his suspected ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder),” Dianne said.
Jon had a career working with bands in a production company, something he was passionate about. His role was primarily to load and unload music equipment and drive musicians to various performances. Unfortunately, that was when his life took a turn.
Recipe for a cycle of addiction
“From a professional point of view, having your brain working differently to other people and not knowing why, is the perfect recipe for addiction. The fact that he was in the music industry, (working) with famous bands who introduced him to various substances, (meant) things spiralled for him — especially with undiagnosed mental health (issues),” Dianne said.
Jon’s addiction escalated quickly and reached a peak, as he eventually was unable to continue working.
“He got into his van one day and he just left everything behind. As his addiction got worse, he lost his license and lost his van, and all he was left with was his backpack. He would just walk around, wherever, and set up his tent.”
Jon’s drug addiction was a big contributing factor for losing his housing, and Dianne says he’s just realised that his mental health issues were intertwined with his unhealthy drug use.
“The longer he experienced homelessness, the more he started to lose hope, and the more he lost hope, the more he relied on drugs to make him feel better, and the more he used drugs, the less hope he had, so it was a huge cycle that he was struggling to break.”
Mental health
“His motivation was a 3 out of 10, based on the Drug and Alcohol STAR chart – he didn’t want to get out of bed, he didn’t want to do anything,” Dianne said.
Although Jon’s mum supported him with a mobile phone and some essentials, Jon couldn’t rely on his family for support as they lived interstate.
While the stigma to seek help for mental health still exists, Dianne said she drives out to visit Jon weekly, to simply have a chat. “He’ll say, ‘I read this thing about ADHD,’ and just start talking me through it. So I’ll explore what that means for him—how that’s going to change the way he does things, the way he understands himself or his environment,” Dianne says, drawing on her skills from her previous experience as an Alcohol and Other Drug Counsellor.
Dianne could recognise Jon’s feelings of guilt and shame, and helped him recognise his freeze response to conflict and issues, where he would shut himself off completely, emotionally and physically.
“Once he realised that, he was able to be more kind to himself, and the kinder he was to himself, the less he used (substances) and he then realised it was connected, so (the progress) was cool to see,” Dianne said.
Finding support
“Our program, Homes First, when we engage with clients, the idea is that they get a house straight away but that wasn’t the case because there just were no houses,” Dianne says.
The case workers thus, relied heavily on building positive relationships with their clients while they waited.
“Doing that assertive outreach, connecting him with other community services, talking about his goals, what his path looks like, and walking alongside him, so he doesn’t feel alone, that’s been a big part of it.
Between Street to Home and CCV’s Homes First, we were able to give him something to look forward to. Him realising that he could work towards getting a house, improved his motivation.”
Dianne says that Jon has come a long way in the last six months. Since securing his home in June, Dianne says “he’s like a different person, he’s bubbly, he’s happy and he’s talkative.”
Reuniting with music and mountain climbing
Now that Jon is settling into his home, he is able to focus on his two ‘big loves’, music and mountain climbing. He’s been able to collect his music equipment that he had stored at a friend’s house and has started playing again.
“For those 18 years where he was experiencing homelessness, he couldn’t play his keyboard and have his guitar, and his (subwoofer) and (amplifier), so he’s been able to tap into those ‘loves’.
He’s been able to go out mountain climbing and he’s got climbing friends now,” Dianne said.
Connecting with community
Through his engagement with the Salvation Army, Jon is now connected with his local community.
Dianne notes that his management of finances has improved, there’s been a massive reduction in his drug intake, and he now attends Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous weekly.
“He’s engaging with his community and he’s not isolating himself from his neighbours. He’s leaving the house to find communities he can connect with, which is very different for him from six months ago. The fact that he is looking for connection, I feel, is our biggest success,” Dianne says.
Homes First
A new program providing assistance for people experiencing homelessness, to secure long-term accommodation, and to access support to sustain their social housing tenancy.
The 4th of August marks the start of Homelessness Week, held annually to build community support and government commitment to end homelessness.
You can help raise awareness of the impact of homelessness, the solutions needed to end homelessness, and advocate for change by getting involved in national and local community events.
