From devastated and homeless to a full time job and dreams of owning her own home

Growing up in difficult family circumstances, Rebecca* found schoolwork challenging. She was also balancing studies while caring for her younger siblings and maintaining a part-time job.

At 16, Rebecca experienced a violent situation at home. She was devastated to leave behind her younger sisters but without any other choice, she fled for safety. She turned to an aunt who was also homeless and the pair spent several months moving between different family members’ homes.

'I didn’t know where I would be staying or what would happen, or if I went to school if I could go back to the same house,' Rebecca said.

It was Rebecca’s school that connected her with Mission Australia’s Youth Accommodation and Support Service (YASS) in Perth. Here she found help to learn independent living skills, a safe place to stay and, most importantly, support through the final year of high school.

Rebecca now has a full-time job and looks forward to owning her own home one day.

'At the moment work takes up a lot of my time, but that is kind of adding to my dream of owning a house one day,' she said. 'I’ve never really had anywhere stable to live and my mum never owned a place. Something I really want is to own a house so I know my kids and my grandkids, eventually, will have somewhere that they know is going to be home.'

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people we help.