Ben, a 49-year-old Wiradjuri man from Cowra, NSW, was born in the old Paddington Women’s Hospital, which was demolished and repurposed into apartments in 1997. Before moving to Petersham, Ben had been living in an SGCH leasehold Together Home Transition Program property in Paddington – and he could see the site of the old hospital from that apartment.
While most of Ben’s family have passed away, he has one sister and three children (a 17-year-old daughter living in Queensland with her mum, a 7-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son, who are in Gosford with their maternal aunty).
“I was referred to SGCH, under the Together Home Transition Program, by the Salvation Army’s Foster House,” says Ben. A partner to SGCH’s Port Jackson Supported Housing program, Foster House provides short-term crisis and supported accommodation for homeless men in Sydney’s inner city.
“I have been in and out of prison over the last number of years. And I was on the NSW Housing Register as a high-priority homeless person when my case worker at Foster House put my name forward for a property with SGCH. At that time, I had been homeless on and off for two years.”
The Together Home program aims to support homeless people across NSW into stable housing, linked to wraparound support. It is through funding from this program that SGCH is able to assist customers like Ben to move out of homelessness and into long-term accommodation. This provides them with a solid foundation upon which to connect to opportunities and build their communities.
Ben resided in the SGCH Together Home Transition Program leasehold property for six months, before moving to 13 Palace Street, Petersham – an SGCH capital property.
Shifting from a leasehold to a capital property is a good move for Ben. “It is such a relief having a permanent place to stay now, having been homeless for so long. It has been a quite a trek and process to get here, but knowing I have a permanent place to call home is such a relief and helps me with my mental health. SGCH has done such a wonderful job.”
Ben enjoys surfing in Coogee on his Malibu board – and surfing the net just as much. He is an avid reader and likes to fish alone in the harbour. “I don’t like people too much. I prefer my own company.”
He adds: “I’m pretty well travelled, having been to Singapore, the Philippines, North Korea and what was then known as the Soviet Union. My mum was a member of the Communist Party, I was a member of the Young Communist League who attended the 13th world festival of youth and students in 1989. It was eye opening.”
Although he has only lived at Petersham for two weeks so far, when asked what he thinks of the new place, he says: “It is fantastic, much bigger than the last place. Was a bit hectic to move out as I was only given 14 days’ notice from the real estate. I’m thankful for the help of the Salvos and SGCH, they arranged a new place straight away.”