From homeless to champion

3rd May 2011 by Esther Pinn

Meet Bianca Orsini.

Bianca's mother grew up in the Philippines. Her father was from Italy. Searching for a wife online, he found Bianca's mother. They married and then moved to Australia.

Bianca, however, was not part of their plan.

Not long after they moved to Australia, Bianca's mum became pregnant and her father abandoned them.

A difficult childhood

Bianca grew up not knowing her father and living in government housing estates in Canberra with her mother, who spent most of her evenings drinking.

As Bianca got older she had no independence. Her mother would rarely let her out of the house, leading to regular screaming matches.

"I acted like such a spoilt brat because there was such a pressure on me to have nice things. My friends didn't understand why I needed to be out all the time," she shares.

Bianca was only 16-years-old when she starting hanging out with a bad crowd – a group of 25-year-olds who would take her out clubbing. One night when they went out clubbing in Sydney she met a boy she dated for the next three-and-a-half-years.

Just after four months of dating, Bianca left her mother behind in Canberra and they moved in together in Sydney. Bianca was just 17 at the time.

"I barely knew this guy from a bar of soap," she reflects.

They ended up moving overseas for seven months. "It wasn't really thought out at all as we both just left our jobs and left," explains Bianca.

When they came back from their trip, they broke up. Her boyfriend ended up getting his job back straight away and got an apartment with his friends.

Bianca wasn't so lucky. She ended up unemployed and homeless.

Alone and abandoned in Sydney

"I couldn't go home to mum," she said. "She constantly asked to borrow money from me to buy food, but when I called, all I could hear was the incessant sound of poker machines or the slurring in her voice."

Having no where to go, one of Bianca's friends told her got to Oasis. Here she met John Harris, one of the Oasis youth workers.

Because no beds were available in homeless shelters around Sydney, and also because of John's concern that Bianca would be influenced by the drug and alcohol addicts at Oasis, she ended up staying at The Salvation Army's Samaritan House, a women's refuge.

While Bianca was staying there she spent a lot of her time looking for a new job. However, Bianca struggled to keep the rules at Samaritan House and broke curfew twice, forcing her out onto the streets again.

"They said to me, if it was up to them, they would actually have me stay because I regretted doing it and they could see that I was quite remorseful about it. But they didn't want to set a standard for other people who stuffed up as well," Bianca says.

For a couple of months Bianca "couched surfed", staying at a different house every night. During this time she was offered a job at a law firm as a Team Leader, but she still remained homeless.

A new identity: Champion!

John Harris kept in touch with Bianca during this time and offered her a place at the Employment Pathway's program at Oasis which ran for ten weeks. John met with her once a week to complete leadership exercises.

Bianca and the Oasis Champions with Sir Richard Branson

Bianca and her Champions 'family', pictured here with Sir Richard Branson.

Bianca was then able to apply for a studio apartment in an Oasis facility, and it was here Bianca really flourished and was able to get on her feet.

During this time Bianca was also involved in the Oasis Champions program, which invests leadership, public speaking and other skills into people with backgrounds like Bianca's.

Bianca now has a family – her friends from the Champions program.

"For so long I believed that if your cards appeared to be dealt a certain way, then you couldn't change this. I just accepted things the way that they were. Oasis has shown me that just because you don't have a family that is capable of nurturing and loving you, doesn't mean that you can't have one at all. Through Oasis I was able to receive the support and love I needed to gain the strength to achieve my dreams," shares Bianca.

Bianca now wants to devote her life to helping others who are homeless, and is employed by the Salvos to do just that.

As Oasis Schools Liaison Officer, Bianca will visit high schools right around NSW and promote The Oasis Schools Curriculum - an official study module that allows young people to learn about youth homelessness as part of their high school studies.

Maybe you aren't called to a career with the Salvos like Bianca, but you can still help! Sign up to collect for this year's Red Shield Appeal Doorknock on 28-29 May, raise money to support the work of The Salvation Army, and be part of solving homelessness around Australia!

Comments

Alexandra Viles

May 04, 2011 at 6:39pm

I am only 11 and find that so sad and touching as knowing what it,s like to be a kid I can't imagine it that hard

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