Voyage of Discovery

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

During Outreach Scott introduced me to a number of homeless young people, including some adults and very charismatic characters like the "twins'. Two guys in their early forties who have been homeless for a number of years in Sydney. They are a very knowledgeable pair and what they did not know about sport and every Olympics ever held was amazing and very entertaining.

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We met up with the YOTS Outreach bus which is operated mainly by YOTS volunteers and handed out food and drink to homeless young people in the area. Most of the food is donated by local retailers. From here Scott took me on a tour of the streets, where the young homeless congregate and sleep. One such area is a back alley next to a homeless hostel which invariably is full, the overflow of which sleep in the alleyway. As we drove up faces peered from beneath blankets and cardboard boxes. Scott stopped the car and handed out blankets to anyone who required them, until the car boot full had all gone. There were approximately 40 young people present sat around smoking and chatting, Scott explained that as this is the beginning of Australia's summer and the weather is just warming up, these numbers are small. As soon as the weather heats up and the pavements become warm Scott expects the homeless population to raise to around 200 to 300 by xmas. By then this alleyway will be so full that access by car will be impossible and potentially more dangerous for Outreach workers due to the amount of people and the unpredictability of some due to drug misuse and mental health problems. As we ventured future down the alley I noticed the whitewashed walls were covered in graffiti, within each section of brick there consisted poems, writing and messages placed there by the homeless population. These messages consist of statements about people who have either been imprisoned, murdered or disappeared. There were also messages of celebration on the birth of a child or a union in a relationship, declarations of love and hate about people and places. The messages were carefully and neatly written in different colored pens onto the brickwork like an entry in a diary. The importance of acknowledgement,identity and existence are very clear to this group of people. This rainbow of colour was amazing to read and see.
Several times a year the Local Council clear the alleyway of all belongings and clean up the graffiti by whitewashing the walls. The next clean up visit by the Council will occur at the beginning of the New Year, only for the process to start again immediately after the authorities have left.

There are four main areas of Sydney were the potential for the sexual exploitation of children and young people occurs. The Wall, Taylor square, Kings Cross and the Lane. Traditionally Kings Cross is the well known area in Sydney for prostitution as it has it has a plethora of adult brothels, sex clubs and strip clubs. However the area is currently undergoing a transformation as it has become a tourist destination and a respectable up market cafe and restaurant area. This has led to renovation of buildings, road ways and pavements and the authorities deciding that no more applications for sex clubs to open will be allowed,instead they will be permitted out of town about one hour away by train in the suburbs of places like Merrylands. This decision has resulted in mixed feelings from businesses and residents alike which have been reported in various recent newspaper articles.

The Wall an area where young men and boys are found, some as young as 13 have been known to be sighted in the area. Scott and I observed an older guy sat in his car most of the evening chatting to young people. He is there most night's, Scott informed me and befriends the lads by offering them food, somewhere to stay as part of his grooming process. Whilst we were observing the situation one of the homeless lads who knows Scott well asked him to help out a young man who he felt was 'getting out of his depth' as he was sat in this guy's car. He told us of how this guy befriends young lads and abuses them. He will not make a statement to the Police about what he knows, though very much wanted Scott to help the lad out and get him of the streets before in his words 'it will be too late' Scott arranged to be introduced to the young guy later and to offer support.