After losing her own house to fire last year, Vinnies South Australia chief Evelyn O’Loughlin gained a deeply personal insight into homelessness and the importance of support. Source: In Daily.
This Homelessness Week, I want to share my own story with you – because something that happened to me last year profoundly impacted how I view the work that Vinnies does, and why a whole of community response is required to make inroads into reducing homelessness.
On August 8 last year, I was at Adelaide Oval attending a symposium on gender equality, listening to Sam Bloom, of Penguin Bloom book and movie fame, talk about her life as a wheelchair user as a result of an accident.
She spoke about how her good days were “diamonds” while other days were “gravel”, and how you never know what’s around the corner.
For me, what was around the corner presented itself by phone only a few minutes after Sam left the stage – my husband called to tell me that our home in the Adelaide foothills was on fire.
In the blink of an eye, my day turned from diamonds to gravel … and quickly to ash. I was, in an ironic twist, homeless.
Of course, it was devastating. There were a lot of losses, including our two cats, but we had a supportive family, a large and generous networks of friends, colleagues and community, jobs, and some money in the bank.
I have reflected on all this and contrasted our experience with that of many of the people who come to Vinnies for help. They often have none of those things I sometimes took for granted: no family to rely on, minimal or no wider networks.
And that’s where Vinnies comes in.
We provide the network where there isn’t one. A network of volunteers, a committed support staff and generous supporters who, together, help people feel valued; that they are worthy of being cared for, and that they too deserve the good things in life.
Evelyn O’Loughlin is CEO, Vinnies SA
FULL STORY
The power of community can help tackle homelessness (In Daily)
