The Domestic Violence Tax – DV results in extreme and risky life choices/decisions with far reaching consequences

Living in a dangerous and abusive neighbourhood forced me to hit the streets of Sydney when I was 15.  Kings Cross became my home for the next 18 years and I quickly fell victim to drugs and prostitution to help me survive.  Physical abuse was part of the damaging cycle but the ‘neon blur’ helped me feel like someone else and drown out the past.  I gave rehab a good crack but the call of the needle drew me back every time.  It wasn’t until I met the ‘light of my life’ in a travelling truckie that things really started to change.  He took me under his wing and was determined to help me tidy up my life once and for all.

After we relocated to Wollongong, for almost 12 months I would lock myself in his unit each day and refuse to go out unsupervised.  I was too scared that I would jump on a train and head straight back to the jaws of ‘The Cross’.  Eventually, I connected with SAHSSI and they supported me to achieve my rehabilitation and remediation goals. I made friends for life through their network and was often told that I had the ‘gift of the gab’.  I came to learn that sharing my stories comforted and inspired other women to stay on track with their own rehabilitation.  Before long, they coined me ‘Mother Hen’ and boy do I wear that title with pride.

Apart from the mental scars, my journey has put me in a physical mess too.  Being close to death’s door a few times from drug overdoses has left me riddled with chronic health issues.  I wish I knew more about the long term impacts street life and drug abuse would have on my body.  My message for ‘the youngsters’ out there is: If you’re doing it to run away from something, don’t.  Because it’ll leave you in a mess that in the end you won’t be able to run away from.  Go and talk to someone instead. It works a hell of a lot better than any bloody powder can.