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Sigrid became homeless at 14 and everyone pretended she didn’t exist. The problem has only worsened since
Updated . First published at
Exclusive: Sigrid was just 14 when she left home with nothing but the clothes on her back and started sleeping rough.
She spent the next few years stealing naps in Centrelink waiting rooms when the sun was up and fighting sleep deprivation through the night, terrified of what might happen if she closed her eyes.
Sigrid looks like a normal Aussie teen in this photo. In reality, she had been homeless for more than a year. Supplied
The worst part was that every single day, other Australians walked right by her and ignored her. Most acted like she didn’t exist at all.
Now in her 30s, Sigrid, who asked not to have her surname published, fears the nation’s attitude towards people experiencing homelessness has only gotten worse.
New research from homelessness charity Orange Sky revealed that almost one in three Australians admit they have walked past someone they believe is sleeping rough or experiencing homelessness without acknowledging them.
Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Skipper: mskipper@nine.com.au
In December, thousands of commuters walked past the corpse of a young homeless man outside Sydney’s bustling St James station for days before he was discovered.
They had become so accustomed to ignoring people like Bikram Lama, 33, that his death went unnoticed for nearly a week.
That tragedy represents a kind of willful ignorance Sigrid is all too familiar with.
“Feeling invisible is by far the worst [part of homelessness],” she told nine.com.au.
“You’re already going through a really hard time and feeling invisible to the world just adds a whole extra layer of hopelessness to the situation.”
In 2006, when Sigrid was sleeping rough, Australia’s homelessness rate was sitting at around 45 per 10,000 of the population.
Data from the 2021 Census showed that it had jumped to more than 48, equivalent to more than 122,000 people.
That figure may be even higher this upcoming Census night on August 11, as the cost-of-living and housing crises have driven a sharp spike in homelessness, pushing many services to breaking point.
Even Sigrid, who is now a mother, has struggled to keep a roof over her head at times.
But she’s done everything to ensure her children never have to experience what she did sleeping rough as a teenager.
Sigrid left her childhood home at 14, fleeing years of trauma.
Sigrid had a difficult childhood and eventually felt her only option was to run away. Supplied
For a while, she couch-surfed, relying on the kindness of friends’ parents, but offers of a hot meal and a place to sleep eventually dried up.
That’s when she was forced out onto the streets.
As a young girl on the cusp of puberty, Sigrid didn’t feel safe again for years.
Terrified and utterly alone, she spent her days loitering in office waiting areas and sleeping in the chairs while pretending to be waiting for an appointment.
Nights were spent desperately searching for somewhere safe to wait out the darkest hours.
“It’s absolutely terrifying knowing where you’re going to be able to rest your head, sometimes being up for days because you’re too afraid to sleep,” Sigrid said.
“Even during the day, people harass you and taunt you.”
For Sigrid, the hardest part of homelessness wasn’t the sleep deprivation or fear of violence; it was constantly being ignored by her fellow Australians.
Every day people walked past her and averted their eyes so they could pretend she didn’t even exist. It took a devastating toll on the teen.
“I started to lose sight of hope and even just faith in humanity,” Sigrid said.
“There was definitely more than one time when I thought things that nobody should ever have to think about.”
A rare smile or kind word from a single passerby was often what kept her going in those dark moments.
By the time Sigrid finally found safe, permanent accommodation, she was almost 18.
Like many Australians who experience homelessness, she continued to face challenges even after securing housing.
Even after she found stable housing, Sigrid faced challenges. Supplied
Three million people were at risk of homelessness in 2022, and the number of people seeking help because they couldn’t afford housing jumped by 36 per cent between 2020 and 2023, according to the Australian Homelessness Monitor (AHM).
Children and young people make up more than a third of Australia’s homeless population, rates of homelessness among women are growing faster than among men, and First Nations are nearly 8.8 times more likely to be experiencing homelessness than non-indigenous Australians.
Support services are overwhelmed, there’s not enough emergency accommodation to go around, and pathways to permanent housing remain fragmented.
Meanwhile, attempts to build more affordable housing have been met with fierce opposition in some parts of the country.
This week, Camden residents said they want nothing to do with the NSW government’s plans to build a 95-unit affordable housing complex nearby.
“The scale of the homelessness crisis is no secret, so anyone who wants to stop us from building more homes should consider what that means for the people currently sleeping rough on our street,” NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson told nine.com.au at the time.
“Fundamentally, you cannot solve homelessness without homes.
“We are trying to get on with that job, but it is disappointing to be faced with opposition at almost every turn.”
It all paints a dire picture of the state of homelessness in Australia, and Sigrid fears nothing will change while so many Aussies continue to turn a blind eye to homelessness and the people just like them living through it.
Today, she volunteers with Orange Sky to provide free laundry, showers and conversation to people experiencing homelessness.
Making them feel seen has been an incredibly rewarding experience for Sigrid, especially after all she’s been through.
Now she’s calling on other Aussies to step up and do the same.
“Just acknowledge their existence, have a human conversation with them,” she said.
“It doesn’t even take communicating face to face; if you’re not ready to do that, or for whatever reason find that too confronting, you can at least make a donation.
“They’re part of our community, and we should be looking out for each other.”
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