Fred's Turning Circle

My amazing life in my own home and work was coming apart at the seams. My marriage was on shaky grounds and my dad had a stroke. Soon Dad became too heavy for mum and the family to look after at home and he went into a high care nursing home.

Soon after, mum died of cancer, then my younger brother committed suicide. I was getting over loaded and was ready to kill someone. That someone would be me. I’d had cancer myself years before all this happened and my body was paying the price of selling my soul to the chemo and radiation gods. I was falling apart.

I was one of 12 children and, born in the middle, didn’t have to fight to get what I wanted. The older and younger paved the way. I didn’t cope with the subsequent break down of my marriage. After making a real mess of it myself, I ended up living on the street and couch surfing.

Things were way past rock bottom and I wasn’t coming up. This was almost a 4-year mess and I was not going to un-mess it quickly. I had a sliding door moment when one of the loveliest ladies you could meet, a Social Worker at Norwood Centrelink, suggested a path to go down. I made a deal with myself that I would give this a red hot go. That I would try with my best endeavors to change the direction I was heading. That if it did not work then I would join my younger brother.

I have the most amazing female friends, but felt that I was nothing much more than a burden to them. They never gave up on me and relentlessly supported me as I gained the emotional IQ to take the higher ground, be responsible for the damage caused to all and sundry along the way. I came to Hutt St Centre. I came back many times, then I was allocated a case manager.

I didn’t have to explain to her how difficult it was to survive on a benefit. She knew. I had to save my limited cash and with the help of my family, which I reunited with at my Father’s funeral in October, I moved into a subsidized flat that she found me. I was also a very grateful recipient of the Wyatt Trust. This was the best thing that had happened in a long while.

I set some dates for my personal goals. I’m in the Pathways to Education and Employment Program and I am hoping to be working part-time by December. The thing is, you have to want to save yourself. No one is a bigger loser than you if you decide you’re not worth it.

There is something about the people who are associated with and work at this Centre. They have a real heart and they walk the talk when it comes to caring. I am now reconnected with my medical practitioners at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and am picking up where I left off on my treatment. I am such a better person for what I have gone through.

I have the attitude of gratitude for everything I have been lucky enough to learn. Life is good. I am really excited about summer and the opportunities that lay ahead. I will never forget the people at Hutt St Centre who helped me to see the world really has more good than bad people. You will be surprised what can happen when you ask for help, and commit to doing the best you can to get the things you want. You’re worth it.

(Dedicated to my friends and anyone that was kind to me along the way - I will always be in your debt.)

Fred.