Since the age of 14, South African born Slide has been couch surfing her way between different homes in Canberra, trying to find the next couch to sleep on for the night. Seven years on, Slide now has a place she can call home and is ready to help others facing similar situations through Red Cross.
‘Well my life was pretty crazy back then, massive family fights and then my parents split up. I was sort of in the middle of their fighting; always asking me to spy on the other one and so it didn’t really work out.’
After her parents difficult divorce, Slide’s mother kicked her out of home when she was just 14. ‘She said I looked too much like dad and I reminded her of him, so she kicked me out.’ 
From there she moved into her first ‘crash house’, continuing to move from place to place when things became difficult. ‘You come across issues when you’re staying at a random place, usually on a stranger’s couch. That’s generally when I moved onto the next place.’
Slide found it difficult trying to find a place to stay and still go to school while looking for work. ‘Going to school while looking for a job and a place to stay is often hard. It was tough getting work and not having somewhere to sleep, money really was limited.’
While she was homeless, Slide wasn’t too familiar with the services available in Canberra to help her. ‘Back then I didn’t know about any (services) until one of my friends said he got a free card from a guy at Barnardo’s so I actually looked them up and found out they do a community program for housing.’
Now Slide has an apartment she can call home, which is her biggest accomplishment in her young life. ‘It’s awesome having a place I can call my own, it’s amazing.’
With her life slowly getting back on track, Slide is now studying at tafe, with the goal to be able to help others who are going through a similar situation. ‘I remember meeting these people in the community and I was just talking to them and they were saying I’d make a good youth worker or social worker and that’s where the whole Red Cross idea came from because I was looking at how I could help feed people. I had heard of the Roadhouse which is run by Red Cross and had been once before, so knew it was a program that was helping people like me.’
The Roadhouse is a Red Cross program that provides free hot meals three times a week in a safe and friendly environment to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and people who are financially and socially disadvantaged.
‘I didn’t really get around much because of the limited public transport, unless things were near me. If the Roadhouse had been close to me, I would have used it more, that’s for sure.’
Since enrolling in a drug and alcohol course at tafe, Slide has joined Red Cross as a save-a-mate (SAM) volunteer providing peer support on alcohol and other drug issues as well as mental health. She has also joined the Youth Advisory Committee, a Red Cross initiative to encourage young people to advocate and get actively involved in engaging with young people across Red Cross.
Since getting her own place, Slide has a list of things she wants to achieve. ‘I have so many ambitions now. I’d like to get my poetry published and learn how to draw comics. I also want to use my drug and alcohol studies to actually help people that are struggling with drugs, alcohol and homelessness. That’s what brought me to Red Cross as a volunteer, to help others get out of difficult situations.’
While she will continue to face different hurdles throughout her life, Slide is reminded of how far she has come and is grateful for what she has now. ‘It’s a bit overwhelming; I’m still in shock mode, like you come home and it’s so quiet, it’s extraordinary peaceful and safe. I can actually have friends over without worrying about their cars being stolen or trashed, do my laundry in peace. It’s not what I’m used to but it’s really good.’
Slide has some advice for those who are experiencing homelessness, or at risk of homelessness. ‘Let other people help you and stick it out because generally it does work out so just be patient.’
To make a donation or find out more about our programs and services, visit www.redcross.org.au
