Astrid hadn’t planned to leave home.
But when her relationship with her highly conservative family broke down, Astrid found herself walking for hours – in a pair of rapidly disintegrating slippers – to nowhere in particular.
“I tried to sleep on a park bench, but it was one of the coldest winters on record,” she remembers. “I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
Thankfully, Astrid had completed a project on homelessness in high school. She remembered that crisis accommodation was available in Sydney’s Inner West.
“Instead of toughing it out any longer, I decided to ask a stranger if he could look up where the nearest homeless shelter was,” she recalls.
“He picked up his phone, pointed me in the direction of Youth Off The Streets’ Don Bosco House, and I made my way there.”
The refuge staff immediately noticed that Astrid’s feet were bare. They offered her a pair of socks and a warm drink.
“I only stayed at Don Bosco for one night, but that night was lovely,” Astrid recalls.
“There was food everywhere and nobody pressured me to talk. They just encouraged me to rest – which isn’t something that I’ve experienced before in my life, honestly.
“I rarely sleep for 12 hours straight, but that night I did.”
Astrid transferred to another Youth Off The Streets 24/7 refuge the following night. She credits the staff and residents of the refuge with acknowledging her gender identity – and accepting her for who she truly is.
“One of the residents, Hope*, saw me, clocked my entire vibe and thought, ‘I’m gonna teach this girl how to tie her hair up’,” Astrid says.
“That’s when I think my transition properly started. Not with hormones or anything, but just learning how to do my hair.
“I had so much freedom to be myself that I dyed it a dusty pink and got an undercut.”
While coming to terms with her gender identity, Astrid was also motivated to learn how to cook and continue studying a nursing degree.
“My caseworkers were amazing,” she says.
“I could go to them for guidance on anything, but I was also encouraged to figure things out for myself – like how to chop an onion and open a clove of garlic.
“I got good at cooking really fast and I made the other refuge residents all these Asian foods that I wasn’t expecting them to like but they absolutely loved them.”
While staying at the refuge, Astrid attended picnics, barbecues and visits to the beach. She was also encouraged to participate in movie nights, painting and archery.
The youth workers supported her to maintain meaningful relationships and navigate the world as a young woman.
“They’re the big sisters I never had,” Astrid smiles.
“They taught me how to stand up for myself and snap out of it when I got caught up in a detrimental line of thinking.”
Astrid eventually realised that studying nursing at university wasn’t for her.
Instead, she transferred into hospitality and worked part-time at a hotel for 18 months.
She moved into a private rental property before further difficulties with her family saw her return to temporary supported accommodation.
Now, Astrid is seeking to achieve her dreams of working in the beauty industry.
She is working part-time at the airport and beginning her studies at TAFE in July.
“Youth Off The Streets is still helping me,” Astrid says.
“My caseworker is taking me to appointments, letting me know about upcoming training courses and stuff like that.”
But the most important thing Astrid has learned during her time at Youth Off The Streets is “how to be you, and how to be happy being you”.
“Having the chance to explore my gender identity and express myself was so big in terms of my long-term stability and mental health,” she affirms.
“Staying at the refuge gave me room to figure those parts out.”
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