For a twenty-two year old, Victor has experienced an immense amount of hardship and has worked hard to overcome adversity.
“I was eighteen years old and things weren’t amazing at home – it had all come to a huge boiling point, so I moved out,” says Victor.
Victor found himself homeless, relying on an old caravan in a rough condition to provide shelter each night.
“I was homeless for one month and stayed in a caravan. For me, it felt like ages at the time. It felt like a year. They weren’t good conditions. I also spent three weeks on my friends couch.”
With the help of Anglicare Victoria’s Breaking the Barriers program, Victor received the assistance he needed to help turn his situation around. With his case worker’s help, Victor was able to set himself up in a flat and begin to move on with his life.
Victor has a good sense of what other young people going through crisis need. “I would want the same experience for another person going through the same situation. The best thing for young people is having engagement from their youth worker. I saw my worker once a week or once a fortnight or three times a fortnight, which is really important.”
The future looks bright for Victor, who is now studying Youth Work and is planning on eventually moving into Community Development.
* Permission was given by Victor to use his real image to accompany his story.
