Rick Bolt's Blog Random Musings from a Random Bloke

What is it with the word “Homelessness”? Or better still what is with the pre-conceived ideas held by so many when they hear/see the word Homelessness? Does the thought of this word really repulse you so much? So much so, that you avoid eye contact, stop communicating or even fire verminous abuse at a homeless family? All questions that I just do not understand why…



Many of the very few that read my blog would be well aware that my family and I became homeless. And for whatever reasons we were left without any solid accommodation for our family over a Christmas period.. That is, 9 people. And out of that we learnt that many people just like us were also homeless, without anybody to give a damn about their welfare. So once we were back on our feet, Cate and some of our children have continued to raise awareness of homelessness in Australia and to help raise much needed funds to assist those organisations that are out there helping the homeless. But the prejudices of that word homeless just make it so hard. Just like when we were homeless, people don’t want to communicate about this subject, and to attempt to raise funds is near impossible. Yet other very well deserving charitable organisations have nowhere near the same issues with raising funds for other causes. Why is this?

For two years Cate and the kids have completed the winter sleep out to raise funds for Mission Australia. And for both years, gaining donations has been extremely difficult. People just shy away. Even after setting a very low target of $1000 for four people, they have been only able to raise three quarters of that amount. And yes, there is always a draw on everybody’s resources to give to charity.. And yes, there is only so much money to go around (or should that be there is only so much we want to give to go around so we don’t lose our comfortable positions?) but getting people to see the actual issue of homelessness is near impossible. Yet many Australians are only one or two payments away from that very same thing. Why?

What comes to mind when you hear homeless? The old drunk on the park bench? Because that image changed a very long time ago.

What is it about homeless people and being homeless that turns you away?
I would really like to know your opinions on this, as I cannot understand why this word causes so much prejudice.



Rick

Here we go again.

Over the past week I have listened to a debate on the local ABC radio station Coast FM, I’ve watched the same debate on Sunrise no Ch 7 Sunshine Coast and I am somewhat perplexed at why this is an item to be debated in the first place.

A night club in Noosa has decided that on the slowest night of the week they will have topless barmaids serving. I really do not understand the issue with this. If the sight of naked breasts offends you, don’t go in there on Tuesdays.. But of course if they do offend you, make sure you don’t walk across to the beach during summer you will be horrified!

Is this 1911 or 2011? Like it or not, things change and so do moral values rightly or wrongly. What once was deemed taboo is now just the norm. What is the problem with a business thinking outside the box to ensure it stays viable? The coast has had a horrid time and many businesses are suffering. This business has received the appropriate approvals and the topless staff are not doing it against their will, what is the problem? If those ladies are comfortable in their own bodies and are happy to share it with customers, why not? The business is not direct onto the main street and nothing is visible from outside. Only over 18’s can enter… Again I ask, so what’s the problem.

Older fashion beliefs is what I feel the problem is. How many of you that oppose the thought of a topless bar are comfortable in your own body? Do you admire yourself in the mirror? Or is that taboo too? Do you undress in front of your partner? Confronting questions, but If that’s how you feel, that’s fine, But please don’t push your beliefs on others that are trying to make a living.
Personally I don’t have a need to visit a topless bar, I have no problem with it, but no need to go there. And I have no issue if the local pub here had a topless night.. Same rules apply for my own back yard!

Some of the anti-topless comments have amused me. One person stated that it will cause “Noosa to end up like Fortitude Valley or Kings Cross”.. Whoa, big call there. There was also the statement that it will lead to sexual attacks… If that is the case, would summer time not lead to sexual attacks as well? The beach in summer is covered in topless and near naked bodies, but in public not behind closed doors!

I’d like to hear your comments on this. Whether you agree with me or not, that’s what open debate is all about..

Ohhh and while I’m at it. Whether you are comfortable in your own body or not, take the time to look in the mirror and do a regular breast examination. Breast cancer affects far too many families and if it can be detected in the earlier stages, you have a greater chance of beating it.

Rick

WOW…. Look at this! I’ve actually written another blog post. It’s been almost 12 months since my last one. So I guess I’m due.

Now, in reality none of you know me. A couple of you may have met me, but other than Cate, none of you know me.  I’m an arrogant, hot tempered, 6’5” obese angry arsehole. And I’ve been told I don’t have a heart.  That is an honest description. So when something annoys me, I usually let rip. That’s why I don’t have many blog posts or tweets or even Face book messages. Because if I said what I thought at time, I would end up being the follower-less loser whinging that I have no friends!!! 

Now beginith my rant: Please read on.

So much gets said on Twitter and Facebook, at lot of it so overly nice it makes you dry reach, but also so much that is nothing short of just plain whinging. Yes we all have a whinge now and then and yes we all try to be nice but come on…. Why not just be yourselves? What put on the fake persona?  Cause if it’s not fake, some of you really do have problems and should seek help away from social media!!!

If you can’t get out of bed in the morning unless some is kissing your arse telling you how good you are on twitter, you’re in for  a big fall. Seriously, Life is what it is, we all have some really shit times. I know, I’ve been through just a couple that at the time were the worst possible thing that could have happened to me. I even got so low as to seriously thinking of taking my own life to end the pain for me and everybody around me..  But I rose out of it without having to be told how good I am by every person I follow on Twitter. It’s sickening… There are some on Twitter that have a right to whinging, they have had their life totally destroyed by things not of their doing and guess what?  They are not the ones whinging!! “Unfollow” them and shut up Rick I hear you say… Why? Why should I? At times most of you are actually nice people that can communicate in an appropriate manner without unwarranted whinging or having to be held up by fluffy mumbo jumbo. I like to have nice things said to me or about me but I don’t need it to get out of bed each morning. Charlie makes sure of that.

But some of you can find nothing more to do then whinging your little hearts out.. I’m not talking about having a  gripe at something that has annoyed or offended you at that point or about you  providing your opinion on any given subject, because what would life be without that diversity? I’m talking about just plain whinging.

 If you hate having children so much, why do the deed(s) and have the child(ren)? Why? If all you can do is bitch about them on social media, then maybe you need to take a bit of a look at what you’re doing wrong and what things mean to you. Maybe, just maybe the kids are playing up because someone is too busy talking on social media to give a stuff about what they are doing or need? Just maybe?.  Again, I scream and rant at the kids when things are not going the way I want them too, I struggle to deal with a couple of them and the phases they are going through. In fact as a parent I’m pretty crap. But I sure as hell do not get on social media and denigrate my children. Although I have been known to go to their face book walls and have a little bit of fun at their expense.

 If you don’t like where you live, do something about it! We live in one of the best places in the world and have climates to suit all types. If you don’t like the climate you’re in now, change it… Get off your arse, do something about it. Make a plan, set a goal do something about it and eventually move! But that’s quite hard to do when you spend so much time on social media just whinging about it. Am I wrong?

And what about those of you that do little more than whinging about your partner? If it’s that bad, get up and go. Go through some pain, start again and find something to be happy about, but don’t just sit there and whinging.  Who knows, maybe they are doing the same thing about you at the pub or at work or when picking up the kids from school or daycare? Maybe they are sick of social media being your partner instead of them? Maybe? And of course we all have moments with our partners and we get angry or annoyed, but if we are forever bitching about them, something is seriously wrong.

Now if this blog post offends you, I’m not sorry. I have a right to voice my opinion just as you do to voice yours and you have every right to make a comment. So please do make a comment.

But consider what offended you?  Do you see some of you in my post?  Have I hit a nerve? Or do you not like me having a go at the defenceless?  I mean, I was fair game when I was homeless.

Maybe I can get my act together and publish a post a little bit more often than every 11 months??

Rick

Well Well Well…. Its been yet another long time since I have last posted my blog. And as always I have a lot to say but don’t really know how to say it, so…. I just don’t say it at all. Until now.

I’m sitting in my lounge on a Sunday afternoon; Cate is watching the last episode of LOST …..Again…. I’m having a quick flick through the first newspaper I have purchased in a very long time.. I don’t buy newspapers normally; I prefer to read my news on the net from various sources.

On the front page of today’s paper yet another story of a special life lost while fighting for Australia. Yep, another Aussie solder lost in battle fighting yet another war that in reality nobody will win.. Up front I’ll make this very clear;

 I supported the sending of our troops to war when the war in Afghanistan started. I have supported the need for Australian solders to remain there and I support each and every member of the Australian Defence Forces here and overseas defending and/or fighting for Australia. Although I supported them, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks before ANZAC day that I fully understood what it is that our defence force personnel go through to serve our country. And it was a TV show, “Border Patrol” that made me aware of what ADF face and what they are giving for their country. At the time I shed tears and I made comment on Twitter about what I had watched and what the effect on me was. And it was quite a deal, I generally don’t give a shit about too much!

From that point I have paid far greater attention to what our defence forces were actually engaged in and what our government was telling us needs to happen.

But there comes a time with pretty much everything that if what you have planned is not working the way you want it or need it too, that you reassess the situation. You make significant changes or you cut your losses and you remove yourself from the situation altogether. And by reassess I do not mean throw more resources at the problem. That just increases the liability of greater losses.

Given that the objective that was to be achieved by having this war has not been achieved in the stipulated timeframe and the number of lives lost not only in recent weeks but in the entire time Australia has been involved and the number of injured I feel it is time for our government to completely reassess the situation in Afghanistan. We need to bring our defence force personnel home and bring them home alive and uninjured. No, this is not a kneejerk reaction on my part, I’ve thought long and hard about this. There must be another way to achieve the desired outcome without placing so many Australians in such significant danger.

Why am I saying this now?

With a Federal election to be called at any day, why is this not an issue being discussed in the media or even the social media? Why are boat people (Important issue in itself) and a mining tax more important then our own defence forces? Why isn’t there more noise being made about this? Even if the final outcome is not that Australia withdraws all of its troops at least the people of Australia will have had an opportunity to let which ever government wins power know what we expect should happen. That is, if we start to discuss this and allow for all views to be made.. No doubt there will be many that disagree fully or partially with what I have said. That’s fine.. That’s the exact reason our people went to fight in the first place wasn’t it??

What are you views? Do you agree or disagree? Or is this a political hot potato that nobody wants to hold??

Thanks for taking the time to read my rant.. Maybe my next one wont take to long to publish!!

Rick

I would like to share with you a situation that presented it self late last week and the danger that came with it.

Early last week our car started to make some serious noises that were not good. I was unable to clearly identify the noise but with the limited tools that I have, tried to locate and at least see if it was something I could fix. But I could not nail it down. After several days of limited car use where the car drive ok but was very noisy, difficulties of transporting children the vast distance to schools, we needed to use the car. Public transport was not a viable option given that it goes to a totally different town then where the schools are and the fact we had actually run out of money and were eating only from the non perishables in our cupboard just made it all the more difficult.

We now needed to use the car. Cate needed to be at the airport and we needed to get the kids to school. We were left with no option but to try and nurse the car to where we had to go. The noises got louder and louder as we travelled. After making it to the first school and dropping off the older boys, it happened. A very large bang, erratic steering and limited brakes as we moved out onto a major road. We were only travelling slowly and nobody was in danger. I pulled the car up in an emergency stopping bay and checked the damage. Smoke coming from the front wheel. We were not going anywhere in this car.

We quickly unloaded the children out of the car and away from the road as far as possible to ensure their safety. A few quick but unanswered phone calls and a few tweet messages asking for any assistance and we decided the safest option was to move the children off the motorway altogether. So we loaded up with all the bags, four children and headed for the nearest off ramp to safety. The most surprising thing was that at that point no one single car slowed down while passing us. Cars travelling at 100 km/h whizzing past us without any regards for the safety of the children they were passing. We kept as far off the roadside as possible but with the overgrown roadside we were not able to be too far off the road. And still nobody slowed down.

We had walked close to a kilometre when we approached the nearest off ramp and were able to move behind the barrier to some level of safety, but still with only the small barrier between us and the cars on the off ramp, cars did not slow down and continued to “fly” past us with just two meters clearance at full speed. What is it that we can not look a head and see danger anymore and alter our speed to ensure we pass that spot with some level of safety. Are we all so self absorbed in our own little cocoons that we don’t give a damn what’s outside our bubble anymore? I just don’t understand! There were small children on the edge of the road, we were visible but nobody cared.

I will follow up the post with the remainder of our “adventure” as there are a few people I need to mention that went out of their way to ensure our safety and that we also got back home.

What is it with us now? Why don’t we see the danger ahead and slow down? Do you look ahead when driving anymore? Do you slow down when you see/sense something out of the ordinary? What would you expect if you were in the same position?

Thanks for reading

Rick

Like always, I have so much I want to communicate but really struggle to put it into words for a blog.  So lets see how this post pans out.

Last night was the all important “Earth Hour”, where electricity consumers lower their consumption for one hour to highlight ummmm… Well to be honest I’m not entirely sure what its meant to high light any more.

Please don’t get me wrong, our family focus is heavily on the environment (Project 18, The You Crew etc). I have previously worked in the renewable energy industry for many years and the electricity industry prior to that for a lot of years. We use only where possible organic (and I mean real organic) products. We do not have any chemicals in the house. We aim to have a lower then expected carbon footprint then most expect from a large family. But to me Earth Hour is not hitting the mark anymore.

The first year Earth Hour made an impact it raised awareness of our use of fossil fuels and that we need to lower our electricity consumption.. The second year although a lot more participated I questioned whether the impact of what needed to be achieved was actually being lost in the hype of Earth Hour. This for me has continued ever since. Last night as I watched the different time zones move into the Earth Hour via twitter there was quite a deal of discussion about who was going to do what and so on. Then as each time zone entered that time period the tweeting from their died down considerably. Then as expected, as that time zone completed its hour the tweeting increased.

But, it was what was being communicated that leads me to believe the message is not actually getting through. A large number of those tweeting indicated that as soon as the time was up, they returned to their normal habits. Lights on, TV’s on. Computers on etc. Now given earth hour is to show the world we want to change what we do and change where we are heading, why participate and then go straight back to the way things were before the “token” Earth Hour. What does that actually achieve?  We talk, We act (for just 1 hour) then we go back to our cosy lives feeling all warm and fuzzy that we did our bit for the environment.

Well you know what? That 1 hour of lower then normal usage was a complete waste of time for so many. If what Earth Hour represents is not followed through and regularly acted upon then it’s a total waste of time. Hence the reason I call it “token”.

And what many people don’t realise is that it did NOTHING at all to lower power consumption or the use of fossil fuels..

As a majority of Australia’s electricity is generated via large scale slow to react fossil fuel burning power stations, a one hour “dip” in the load can not actually be acted upon. These Power generators can not just stop producing, they take time to wind up and wind down and given the immediate nature of the load dump (lights off) and the load increase (Lights on) all within an hour, these stations still had to produce electricity or be in a state that they could feed the grid immediately. The smaller and quicker reacting Gas (and other) type of generator stations may have gone off line and come back on as needed but the larger generators just kept on pumping. If the generators had in fact lowered their output during Earth Hour, when the hour was up and the immediate increase in load occurred they would not have been able to react quickly enough and load shedding would have had to occur. So the bottom line is that while everybody was thinking they were doing their bit, it was actually a total waste of time in regards to the burning of fossil fuels….. That is unless you continue to follow the principles of Earth Hour EVERY day of your life.

And there lies the answer! Following the principle of Earth Hour not for just one hour a year, but everyday of your life. You should only have that warm fuzzy feeling when you are really reducing your consumption long term.  In reality it’s not a hard thing to do. Turn off and leave off those lights you don’t actually need on, turn off at the wall all equipment and appliances your not using. So many things consume power even when “turned off” or on stand by. Unplug battery and mobile phone charges when not in use, turn your PC or lap top off when not actually using it! All very simple things to achieve and that have long term benefits in lowering electricity consumption.

 What action/s can you add to the list to save electricity on a long term basis?

 Thanks for reading my rant

 Rick..

I am almost certain that Cate will have written or posted something about what this blog post pertains to as I know just how much this impacts on her. I have not had any opportunity to check what Cate may have written prior to post this…………………………

I’m a father to what is now days considered a rather large family. A lot of the time I take having children around as granted because they are always there. Although I am told by Cate to think about the safety of the children a lot more then I do. But being the pig headed male that I am, I tend to hear but not listen.

The past few months have really culminated this morning. Far too many times over the past few months the news bulletins I’m listening to or watching are carrying stories of children missing or being hurt or now all to often being killed. This morning while driving the children to school I was listening to news as I always do, waiting in hope for the story to come up of the 3 year old little boy that went missing from his home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs yesterday afternoon. The story came up and  against all hope the little boy was found deceased by the side of a road 20 or 30 km from where he disappeared.  Tears started to roll down my face from under my sun glasses. I was able to hide this from the kids as they chatted and played.  “This just can’t be!”, not another one. Then another story followed of a 6 yo child that was found drowned in a dam at 12:30 this morning in NSW.  Two more families destroyed, two more little lives gone, for what reason? I don’t know either family but I cried at their loss, what parent wouldn’t?

What is going on in this world?  Little people dying by drowning in dams, at the hands of other children and even at the hands of adults… WHY? What has changed in the world that now sees so many children facing such untimely death? Have I had my head in the sand for so long that nothing has actually changed but now suddenly I’m noticing? OR Is it that we are losing more children in this manner more often they we use too and if so, why? And I say “we” as a parent, a parent concerned now for the safety of not only my children but all children.

I can not in any way imagine how the parents of all of these children continue to function with the loss of their children no matter how it occurs. The fear I felt when Charlie went “walkabout” with Jasmine last year was horrific, but he was safe, although given where we lived at the time, the outcome could have been significantly worse. While writing the post I keep having the thought, what has happened where the community helped raise the local children? I know that now days we don’t tend to stay in the same house for long periods, but when a family moves into a community, why isn’t it like when I was growing up? The “new” neighbours would quickly make themselves known and eye would always be watching out for the neighbourhood kids. When this occurred when I was a kid, I’m sure there were nowhere near as many child fatalities?

I am positive that there is nobody other then Cate and Myself watching out for our children…

If you have children, does the neighbourhood help you watch or look out for your children?

Rick

Just a quick update on my Cenerlink office visit post. Thank you for the comments. I have not posted those comments as a number contained words that I didn’t think appropriate on my blog but totally understand the context in which they were made. I would like to make it clear that my post was aimed at the behaviours of the centerlink staff NOT my attempts to look for work. In fact I did state that “Maybe  that can be another post!”. So for those of you enjoying having a go at me for not finding a job, hold those thoughts until I get to that blog post. The one thing I do request is that you have the intestinal fortitude to use your real name and submit a real email address and or web site address. Hiding behind false information and details really defeats the purpose of your comments ( does it not??)

Lets face it, I’m not happy person and I haven’t been for a long time but sometimes I think I have a genuine reason to state that I feel I’m not being treated fairly!

Today was the day I hate the most each fortnight, some of you will have already guessed it. Yep, It’s form lodging day. That’s right, because I can’t find any work (and I don’t need any comments about “ well I’ve never been out of work”) because I am and have been looking for work but obviously failing miserably. Maybe that can be another post!

What I hate the most about this day is the actual visit to the centrelink office. Other then my last visit a fortnight ago which was a bit different to all others, today is the worst day. I hate the standing in line like a sheep with cap in hand feeling like I should be asking “may I have more sir”. This to me is so demoralising. Then to have a person who in all reality is no better then me, in fact who knows I may actually have had more life experience then they have, look down their nose at me, at the way I’m dressed (no I don’t have nice clothes that’s the way life is) that I’m wearing broken prescription glasses that I’m there begging for a hand out while they have the power to look at a screen with all my details that I cant see at the same time and drag out the awkward silence really is plain rubbish.

Wether they mean to do it or not, I feel like I’m being treated like I’m second class? Why do I have to sit there and hold my breath while they made a decision as to wether I’ve filled the form in honestly or not? If you don’t believe me, ring the phone numbers listed or email the address’s I’ve provided. Don’t make me sit there wondering wether I’m going to get my fortnightly hand out or not.

How hard is it to engage me in some conversation? Am I not worthy of your words because I’m on the other side of the screen? If that’s not the case, what could it be? Do they not like their job that much that they just go through the motions begrudgingly? If so, why not leave and let someone who wants to work do the job?

But on the other hand let me point out that my last visit a fortnight ago was very different, on that occasion the gentleman did engage me in conversation, he spun the screen around and let me see what he was doing, showed me what he and I need to complete. We discussed my efforts to find work and even found out that we both worked for the same employer many moons ago and even knew the same people back in Victoria. As bad as I feel having to go and hand in a form for a government hand out, that visit was made bearable and I felt like I was being treated as a person and not a sheep or a number.

So that shows me that they are allowed to communicate in a friendly manner! Why do you think it feels like this? Is this just me or have/do you have the same feeling when dealing with Government agencies?
Thanks again for taking a few moments to have a read.
Rick

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Back again with another post so quickly, well quick for me anyway.

I still have so much to say but at the same time have difficulty trying to express that in writing, so these next few posts will no doubt be a little disjointed as I talk about the past few months and then also talk about what’s happening now.

 Looking back over the past few months there have been three main things that I have not been able to accept or “get over”. Unlike Cate who has an ability to learn and move on I have struggled to accept these things and at this stage just can not move on. I know it sounds stupid and immature but they are chewing at me and I just cant get over them. I can see these are holding me back from getting on with life but I just can not stop it!

The first of the issues is FRIENDS.

I’ve always lived by the thought that if you let people into your life, you will get hurt. To save getting hurt, I simply just do not let people into my life. Therefore as such I don’t actually have anybody that I refer to as “my friend”. There are even parts to me that even Cate has not cracked her way in. But nether the less we as a family have/had people close enough to us that family members called them friends. These friends were present in one way or another all way up to the point that we were evicted from the house. Now wether us being evicted was of our own doing or through the doing of others is irrelevant, one would expect that our friends would provide some level of support, even if it was only a phone call or email to say “hey were here if you need us”…. But no… we were now homeless and publicly so and that apparently means that nobody wants anything to do with you anymore. The so called friends went into hiding. Ran for the hills even!!

Personally I found this a discussing act and very hurtful. As uncomfortable as it might be to communicate with a “homeless family”, friendship should be stronger than that. And to use excuses like “I didn’t know what to say” or “I thought I’d just make it harder for you” just does not cut it, it’s a cop out. If it wasn’t bad enough living in a tent and van, moving every three or so days and feeling like EVERY person you went past was looking at you because they just knew you were homeless, not having anybody familiar to communicate with just made things feel so much worse.

Just to go back for a second, after a few weeks I had to ask Cate about the feeling I had that no matter where I was, it really felt that people were staring at me because I had “homeless” written on my forehead. Cate felt exactly the same thing, it was a horrible and humiliating feeling. But I digress!

Strangely enough during our travels we met a few people that for various reasons were in similar situations dealing with their issues and to my surprise these people stopped and took the time to talk to us, to communicate with the kids and allowed them to feel human. How sad is it that a complete stranger with their own demons to deal with could offer support when the so called friends left us for dead. And that is why I just can not move forward on this issue.

Maybe I could throw in a positive post next time?? Lets wait and see, but before I go I would like to know, what would you do in this situation? Put yourself in the position of the “friend” be honest with me and let me know, what would you do, how would you feel? I’d appreciate the comments to help me find a way past this issue. But of course, play nice… If you want to be nasty, I’ll just close the comments altogether.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.

 Rick

I guess that unless you have lived under a rock or on the moon you will know that the past two months have not been the most enjoyable. If, by some chance you have no idea what I’m talking about, please read Cates blog at www.catherinebolt.com

I have so much to say that it might be best if I break it down into sizeable chunks and post individually. I will however point out that I am not Cate, I have different views, ideas and outlook then Cate. I can not write as well and I can not clearly articulate my thoughts like Cate. I do not speak like Cate and I do not form friendships like Cate and no doubt you will see over the coming posts that what I have learnt and what I am still struggling with is different to Cate. BUT that’s what helped get us through so far the issues we faced to this point, we are different, we look from different angles and we can work together…. To survive.

Strangely enough just like Cate the past couple of months have taught me many things, Things that I thought I already knew about! Homelessness, friendship, crisis management even just trying to keep a family together, So if nothing else good comes of the issues and experiances we have faced, I have gained some very valuable experience in a side of life I actually knew nothing about. All sounds confusing?

Prior to Cates very public description of our families’ homelessness, how many of you had even given a second thought about the homeless situation in Australia? How many of you had/have the same pathetic ideas as I did that only drunks, druggies and those with mental issues were homeless? Well I learnt first hand that is not the case. AND it hurt, it still hurts now. The reasons I’m still hurting I will save for other posts. I never knew how big an issue homelessness is in Australia. I never knew just how little federal and state governments know or care about homelessness. I never knew just how kind some people can be and how destabilising and down right hurtful others including Government departments can be… Again more detail to follow in further posts.

To finish this post may I please request something of you? To help me help a couple of charities? During the period of our homelessness there were two charities that stood tall and forced me to swallow my pride and accept help. No matter how humiliated and humbled I felt, these charities stood by us and helped us survive.

The first is St Vincent De Paul (most importantly the Coolum branch), without the help of a very special group of people we would have faced some even bigger issues. And even as late as today SVDP and there helping me deal with the issues that still affect my family and I. Therefore if it is possible in any way, can you please spare a few dollars and donate it to St Vincent De Paul’s? If you get the chance, say thank you for me.

Second and by no means last is 4Walls. Without the intervention of this unbelievably wonderful group of people I’m not sure we would have survived as a family group. From nowhere they were able to place us in temporary accommodation, furnish the house and make us feel wanted and Human. And through their actions (and a couple of other special people) the Bendigo Bank has opened an appeal to raise funds to help 4Walls with their work with the homeless. The appeal is called “Cates Cause”. Please if you could spare any money at all for this appeal it will go towards helping those who really do need help.

Please support “Cates Cause” a national appeal against homelessness. You can donate online or any Bendigo Bank  http://tinyurl.com/catescause

This has gone a bit longer then I planned and I have so much more to say. Please continue to follow my blog and invite others to share my experiences?

Rick