Claire* had a great childhood in New Zealand with her parents and two older siblings. Growing up, her dream was to travel the world.

She didn’t know that decades later after a successful career she would face homelessness while battling life-threatening illnesses.

Claire studied strategic warfare at university alongside much older men when she was just sixteen years old, changing the status quo in a degree previously exclusive to men.

“I always was this strong woman who was way too independent really – if I think about my poor parents. But they were very proud of me, I was very close to my parents.”

In her twenties, Claire experienced the loss of her parents — a moment that changed the course of her life. Grieving and now without ties to New Zealand, she made the leap into working overseas – including countries that were largely untraveled by foreigners at the time – until she eventually landed in Adelaide.

“I loved Adelaide! I actually lived on Hutt Street when I first moved here, and I remember chatting with people sleeping rough in the city.”

When Claire’s health took a serious turn, she had to take eight weeks off work just as she was settling into a new job. Despite ongoing health issues, she worked hard for the next fourteen years to keep up with her expenses.

“At that stage, I wasn’t an Australian citizen, so it was expensive to afford healthcare. Then, I got made redundant, and they didn’t pay my redundancy. I couldn’t afford a lawyer, so I thought I’d just go and get another job.”

But when the pandemic struck, the job market dried up and so did Claire’s hard-earned savings until she couldn’t afford her home any longer.

“I would’ve had to sleep on the streets, except that a friend had a coastal holiday house and offered for me to stay there until I found something.”

With no money and afraid of outstaying her welcome, Claire felt stuck and nervous to seek help.

“I was afraid they were going to think that because I am somebody that had a lot of money, belongings, and a great career before now that I didn’t actually need help.”

She reached out to Homeless Connect SA who connected her with Leah, a Care Finder from Hutt St Centre, and a Case Manager from the Aged City Living team.

“Hutt St were fantastic right from the very beginning. And I felt like Leah was somebody who was going to help me without putting me down. She just kept talking about what could happen and asking me what I wanted.”

The Aged City Living team found Claire a place in a community housing unit as a temporary solution and then worked on advocating for a permanent home that would better suit her health needs.

When Leah called Claire letting her know she’d found her a house that was being built, Claire was nervous having gone without a proper home for so long.

“In my head, I thought, oh, I’m not getting in. They’re not going to give it to me. And then all of a sudden they told me I could come in two weeks’ time.”

Almost a year later, Claire is working with Occupational Therapist, Eleni, from the Aged City Living team to help with adjusting to having a safe and secure home of her own for the first time after years of housing insecurity.

“I think it’s because of what’s happened before, and you get really concerned that you might get chucked out and they keep saying to me, “No, no, no, it’s okay.” But I still feel like this is my home, but it’s not my home yet.”

“I hope I do feel like it’s home soon because I love it here. I feel that this is where I want to stay for the rest of my life. I’ve started doing art again at home, reading, and I love listening to the birds outside. I’m an Australian citizen now, and I’m grateful for that too.”

“Hutt St were fantastic right from the very beginning. I felt like Leah was somebody who was going to help me without putting me down. She just kept talking about what could happen and asking me what I wanted. And it helps a lot having people like Eleni to talk to now that I’m housed.”

“I want to share how grateful I am for Hutt St. Because every single person that I’ve worked with has been lovely. Hutt St have worked out things that I couldn’t to get me this home. I don’t know how to say how grateful I am.”