By Brendan Rees
Sarah (not her real name) was asleep in her bed when she had a knife run down her throat and threatened with a handgun.
“I was punched awake,” she vividly recalls as the group of men attacked her one night at 3am in February.
“It didn’t knock me out,” she says but adds: “I was black and blue from head to toe, had cuts and everything down my face and around my throat.”
Although placed in crisis accommodation in City of Casey, Sarah, who is aged her 30s, still guards her house at night and “patrols out the windows”.
The mother of three has been on the public housing list for 21 years and believed that wait would’ve continued until she got the recent news she would be able to stay where she is until Department of Human Services (DHS) placed her in permanent accommodation.
The State Government announced on 13 June a $9.8 million package would extend its temporary accommodation for rough sleepers to continue until the end of July in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the announcement was welcomed by the Council to Homelessness CEO Jenny Smith, she urged the State Government to also invest in long-term solutions ending homelessness.
“When coronavirus income payments end in a few short months, and the rent moratorium is over, there is going to be a major increase in the number of people accessing homelessness services for the first time,” Ms Smith said. “In order to prepare for this influx in demand, we need to act now, and acquire more social housing.”
DHS March quarter waiting list figures for the Dandenong office as the second highest in the state with 4356, behind Western Melbourne. Of those, 1748 are listed as priority access.
The Dandenong office services surrounding suburbs including Casey.
Meanwhile, Sarah says she doesn’t sleep at night, fearing her abusive ex-partner – who she believes was behind the February attack – would strike again.
“We’re not allowed to have weapons but I’ve got a metal Ikea table leg – it’s almost like a baseball bat in my mind,“ she says.
“After having to move literally 35 times in seven years escaping a violent ex … I was offered very little if any help over those years.
“I’ve lost all my furniture, I lost my car; I had to replace clothing.”
A low point in her life came when she was sleeping in her Hyundai Excel, which was parked at the Settlement Hotel in Cranbourne one night, when her head was suddenly “smashed against the steering wheel”.
Sarah says she’s appreciative of Windermere for finding her emergency accommodation, which provides domestic violence and homeless support services across Casey.
“I wasn’t holding my breath but Windermere are a godsend.“
The former florist says she would love to get back to work but a serious heart condition has stopped her. Her immune system is also suppressed – and lives in fear of contracting Covid-19.
“If I get a cold then I’m in hospital for weeks,” she says. “I do online shopping where I can … I don’t really go anywhere which is something I need to come to terms with.”
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
