Kim adores her children.
Her two eldest daughters have successful careers in the finance sector. Her three younger children, still school aged, have modelled in advertising campaigns for national brands like Woolworths and Forty Winks.
“Nothing in my life is about me. Everything I do is for my kids, and I’m their biggest cheer squad,” Kim says.
Her kids enjoy support and stability – a stark contrast to Kim’s own upbringing.
She remembers the day her life changed, nearly 30 years ago.
“I came home from school and my mum was gone.”
Kim spent the next few years couch surfing and sleeping rough. One night she sheltered on the steps of her school and was discovered by the principal.
Shortly afterwards, she was expelled.
“Despite everything I’d been through, I still wanted to go to school,” she recalls.
“I wasn’t on the streets because I wasn’t listening to my parents, or because I got into trouble. My mum flew to Western Australia and abandoned me.”
One of Kim’s close friends encouraged her to continue with her education. Using her connections at a refuge in Bondi, the friend arranged for Kim to visit Key College in Redfern, one of Youth Off The Streets’ independent high schools.
That same afternoon, Kim met teacher Min Bonwick.
“Min is the mother I never had,” Kim says.
“She’s the light of my life and I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for her.”
Min offered Kim the opportunity to study full-time at Key College.
She showed Kim care and attention in the classroom – improving her academic skills while helping her navigate the ongoing effects of the trauma she had experienced.
So did Bernie, another Key College worker who nurtured Kim’s sense of belonging.
“I used to get up early every day and travel on the train to get to school,” Kim says. “It was hard, because I began living at a refuge and had to stop going out at night and taking drugs. But I started to change for the better.”
After graduating in 1997, she travelled to Perth to reconnect with her mother and began modelling professionally.
She signed with an agency and walked catwalks at fashion shows across Europe. She had a second job teaching modelling, grooming and deportment, hoping to instill confidence in young people from difficult backgrounds like her own.
“Min came all the way to visit me in Western Australia,” Kim remembers fondly. “She’s maintained contact with me my entire life and she even came to my wedding. That’s not something a typical teacher would do.”
While Kim’s career prospects were glowing, she found herself in a series of abusive relationships.
“They were really toxic,” she says. “I had two children during these traumatic circumstances, but Min rang me constantly – even when I didn’t want to pick up the phone.”
Kim still occasionally experienced homelessness. She and her daughters slept in the car to escape the abuse.
At one point she lost custody of her children for three weeks.
“When I got my kids back, I did whatever I could to save them,” Kim explains.
Kim isolated herself – going so far as to break contact with her best friend at the time – to protect her daughters from further violence.
She eventually found a stable retail job while also working as a youth worker in Fairfield.
“Every year, my kids and I would go to the Youth Off The Streets Aftercare program that Min ran at the time,” Kim says.
But the challenges weren’t over. Kim discovered that she was pregnant and the abuse from her then-partner hadn’t ended.
“Min and Bernie were angels. The way they treated me helped me break the cycle of abuse and got me to where I am today.”
With support from Min, Bernie and a man who later became her husband, Kim was able to build the life she wanted for herself and her children.
“My husband was a blessing,” Kim says. “He supported me throughout my pregnancy and adopted my son. He respects and understands my whole history.
“We had two more children together, but we don’t differentiate between the older and younger kids. He’s a dad to all of them.”
Life hasn’t been easy for Kim. Today, she lives with mental ill-health and other serious health challenges. But she remains hopeful for the future.
She and her husband were able to save up to build their own house in the south of Sydney.
Her two eldest daughters have won major national awards in recognition of their efforts to raise awareness of sexual violence. Her three youngest children are pursuing their passions for acting, dancing and basketball, alongside modelling.
“The next phase of my life is about to start,” Kim says.
“Despite my health issues, I hope to spend the next year finding me.”
One of her goals is to run modelling workshops and classes for children in nearby community centres, all while supporting her children’s endeavours.
“When I was young, I was so angry at the world and everything that had happened to me that I lost a lot of opportunities,” Kim remembers.
“But my motto is that everything happens for a reason. If I were to change even one thing, it would mean I wouldn’t have my kids and they wouldn’t be the people they are today.”