Christine Campbell was nine years old when she migrated from the Philippines to Australia in 1995 — she was seeking a better life, but would soon to discover a set of hurdles.
Campbell was living in Melbourne, when at the age of 15 she and her mother fled from violence at home. The teenager had just $10 and her school uniform in her backpack.
Campbell, now a 39-year-old mother-of-two, told 7NEWS.com.au: “There was domestic violence at home … so my mum and I ran away.”
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They first went to a women’s shelter, and then to the Fitzroy Housing Commission flats.
But the mental health impacts of their traumatic experiences had followed them and, as a result, domestic violence remained a part of Campbell’s life for years to come.
She later decided to flee again — this time, alone.
It was “before the time of Google”, and with nowhere to go, she wandered to a local police station. From there she was pointed to a refuge shelter for young adults.
It was nearly 11pm when a scared young Campbell arrived at the shelter. There, 21-year-olds opened up to her about their own “confronting” experiences, bolstering a determination to better her circumstances.
“Hearing their stories about how they came to be there … I was really quite shocked,” she said.
“It actually made me want to work harder to get out of that situation.”
Campbell could only stay in the refuge for six weeks, a period which was about to end just as the first school term for Year 11 was starting.
The night before her time was up at the shelter, she found herself praying.
“I prayed to God to give me a sign because I had nowhere else to go after that,” Campbell said. “That night I had a dream about this big white house with a bell tower on top.”
Carers at the shelter told Campbell the next day about the Lighthouse Foundation, which she would call home for the next four years.
“When the carer’s drove me to Lighthouse, it was a big white house with a bell tower on top,” she said.
The only thing missing was a bell, and Campbell recalls thinking at that moment: “Wow. This is a sign.”
‘Your past is not your future’
As the first term of Year 11 began, Campbell’s friends didn’t know about her life outside the school grounds.
“There was a part of me that felt a little bit uncomfortable telling people where I lived,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
“But about the time I turned 18, I started to feel comfortable with saying, ‘Hey, they is me, this is where I live, it’s a supporting, loving environment’.”
The Lighthouse Foundation became her family while her own was unsafe.
“It had an in-house psychologist that I could see, completely free, so I was able to work through my trauma.”
Retirees volunteered their time to cook meals for the house, and Campbell tried many of the dishes they served for the first time. “It made me feel very special and loved and cared for,” she said.
She recalls her first tastes of rice pudding and beef wellington, and said the home cooked meals “opened up my world”.
The foundation also helped Campbell get her first job in healthcare — an industry she’s continued to work in — and purchased her a mattress as a gift when she was ready to leave the shelter.
Campbell now lives with her two children in West Footscray, where she advocates for those still experiencing homelessness. In the City of Melbourne, there are 268 people under the age of 25 experiencing homelessness alone.
Australia-wide, there are more than 45,000 children and young people without a safe place to sleep each night.
Lighthouse Foundation CEO Dr Eamonn McCarthy said youth homelessness is a growing problem.
“Melbourne is often named one of the world’s most liveable cities, and it’s unacceptable that we have more than 6000 young people without a safe home every night,” he said.
To them, and anyone who has had a similar experience to Campbell, she says: “Your past is not your future.”
And she passes on that message to her own kids, too.
“My daughter, when she was a little bit younger, used to have lemonade stands, and because I had shared with her my story, she would put aside some money to give to the Lighthouse Foundation.”
“She used to say to me, ‘Mummy, just think about the other Christines out there. We could be helping them too.”
Youth Homelessness Matters Day is on April 17. For more information on the growing problem of youth homelessness and to learn how you can contribute to the Lighthouse Foundation, visit the website here.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000. Advice and counselling for men concerned about their use of family violence: Men’s Referral Service, 1300 766 491.