Hidden In Plain Sight - Brisbane

06/11/2021

Final Update on Justin.

Morning all. In one of my early posts I wrote something about ignoring the cloud of unlikelyhood menacingly hovering over my shoulder, with regards to things working out with Justin.

Sadly I have to report now that that is the case and our time together has had to come to an end.

To say we’re sad is an understatement, but it seems that all the wishing and wanting in the world isn’t enough when there’s a demon working inside someone more powerful than anything.

Unfortunately, because of the way GoFundMe is set up we’re having trouble figuring out how to return the remaining money, (apart from the $500 deposit paid to Unilodge which was non-refundable). We’re waiting to hear back from GoFundMe and will keep you all posted.

TJ is keen to start a new page in Hiddeninplainsight’s name if you’re happy to redirect your donation. But again we’ll keep you updated. x

26/10/2021

Justin and I have taken up dancing. Turns out he’s quite gifted at several styles, including The Moonwalk, The Slide and The Two Step, and I’ve become a professional at The Lindy Hop, The Charleston, and The Jitterbug.

He leads most of the time of course, and the type of dance he does depends on the time of day.

In the mornings he’s big on The Two Step and The Slide while he’s trying to get money from me to get himself right for the day. I’ve learnt not to dance with him in the mornings now as we’re dancing to two completely different beats and we just end up treading on each other’s toes. 🙄

In the afternoons, The Moonwalk comes out and he’s sorry and humble and grateful and kind, and at his best. This is when we dance well together and my hopes of winning the competition are at their highest. 🥰

This analogy just came to me at 4am, and I think it’s a good one. Hopefully it’s given you an insight into our days together, as he leads and I follow, jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof trying to keep up with him, and/or trying to anticipate his next show stopping move. 💃😂

Emotional Tap-Tango, that’s what it is. It’s a new style we’ve created together, and although it’s exhausting and often painful for us both for different reasons, i keep hoping and dancing because it’ll be worth every step if we end up winning the trophy in the end. 💙🤞🙏

21/10/2021

20/10/2021

So this happened yesterday!!!

After quite a few days of backwards and forwards via a thousand texts, I was able to finally get Justin to go with me to Home For Good.

Once again, it wasn't as easy as I'd naively imagined, but here's the upshot for you:

It seems he's on all the lists for housing that he should be on, and has been since 2019. There's about 32,000 different "types" of housing, but from what I can gather the two more permanent ones are Government Housing (Govt owned and run), and Social Housing (Privately owned and rented by the Government). After that are Boarding Houses, of which there are many, but not many well run ones.

These ones cost a fortune, and when I was told earlier that bond is paid for by the Government, it's actually just a thing called a Bond Security and is deducted from their Centrelink payments, and just ends up becoming another cost that they can't afford. These ones are a bit of a trap, because people doing it tough take out the Bond Security, and then end up leaving due to any one of a thousand different reasons, and the owner of the Boarding House now has the bond and just re-leases the room to the next poor bu**er. It must be an absolute goldmine for the opportunistic and parasitic bastards running these places, but that's a tale for another day.

Jade and Chris from Home For Good were lovely, and Justin has given me approval to speak to them and act on his behalf. They said it's good that he's happy to go to any of their catchment areas and not demanding of location, which widens his chances.

Jade and Chris know about the money in the GoFundMe account, and if we could pay his bond on a proper house he'd just have to pay the sliding scale amount of his wage or Centrelink payments.

So while there's no real news about getting him a permanent roof over his head, I'm clearer on where things are with his situation, and when we said goodbye he told me he felt more positive than he'd felt in ages about his future, so that's a win for sure. 💙🏡🤞

12/10/2021

I was like an excited teenager when I went to see Justin last night, but when I turned the corner it was like the wind was knocked out of me.

He’s gone. Everything’s gone.

I messaged asking where he was and he didn’t say where he was but he said he needed money. I said Micah Projects wants to help him and he said he can’t because he’s sick. Basically, he’s refusing help and that’s the bottom line at this stage. 😔

So today I went to Micah Projects alone, looking for advice on next steps. Obviously they couldn’t tell me if Justin is on their books or not, but she basically said that getting too involved with these guys can often be disappointing and painful. Obviously I’ll stay in contact with him, but if he’s not ready he’s not ready and there’s nothing I can do about it. 😏😒

I also told her about the GoFundMe money and asked if we could donate to Home For Good, but she said because it was raised for Justin it has to be used for him specifically by law, or returned to you guys.

So I’ve spoken to TJ and we’re returning all of your money. If you feel like sending any money back we’ll open a bank account in Hiddeninplainsight’s name and I’ll just go back to giving small amounts of cash and massive amounts of love to these guys, and try not to get so involved in future. 🤞🦋

Thanks again for everyone’s kindness and generosity. I really thought we were about to change someone’s life, but sadly I’ve learnt that all the hope in the world isn’t enough if someone just isn’t ready to be where you want them to be. 💙💫

11/10/2021

Hi guys... I’m not really sure where the time goes, but in between work and a few social things here and there (sorry Sydney and Melbourne), I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve touched base about Justin.

Basically I don’t have much to update, so I’ll give you what I’ve learnt.

Home For Good is run by a parent company called Micah Projects, and from what I can gather it’s a very large organisation, run mainly of course by volunteers. 😇

It seems the day of my last post I was lucky and spoke to an angel called Lisa who knew her s**t. She was a gentle and kind wealth of support and information. Sadly while she was careful not to crush my humanitarian bubble (and naivety), she also gave me some news I hadn’t anticipated hearing.

Until I spoke to Lisa, I had no idea that there was a team of angels working day and night going around the streets and liaising with these guys, offering support and services wherever they can, which it turns out are quite plentiful. Basically Lisa said it would be a miracle if Justin wasn’t on their radars and hadn’t been approached by them. She said they even have a nurse who goes round, dentists on hand, and that housing is also available to them and that bonds can be arranged through Centrelink.

Mind. Blown. 🤯

So what does this mean about Justin?

At this point I was so confused because I had so many pre-conceived notions about these guys having no one, and I felt I’d misled all of you, many of whom gave generously to our Gofundme. I know that I didn’t deliberately mislead you, but it felt like I’d involved you and you became invested and I got so caught up in the fairytale I forgot to notice the black cloud of unlikelihood leering over my shoulder. 😏🤦‍♀️

I also felt protective of Justin because I don’t want any of you to be annoyed with him. He’s just doing what addicts do. They lie. They have an agenda - always. Right or wrong it’s how they live, and at this point I still have no idea what’s truth or what’s not in his situation, apart from his teeth because I saw them with my own eyes.

I haven’t seen him since that last day because I’m confused and upset and not sure what to say. I’ve left several messages for Micah Projects to get their advice and have just heard back from them. Today’s angel was Olivia and she said they have an office in West End and they’d love to see us come in to see a case worker!

So I’ll go and see him tonight. Im so excited (and nervous) but I guess his response will give me an indication of his intentions, and whether he truly does want to make changes in his life.

With regards to the money in the Godundme account, it’s all still there and not one cent has been spent yet.

Keep everything crossed for us tonight. 🤞💫

06/10/2021

Hopefully I’ll have an update on Justin shortly folks. 🤞🦋

27/09/2021

UPDATE ON JUSTIN.

I don’t know where to start or really what to say. 😏

After he got my note on Saturday Justin messaged me, but when I told him what we’d organised, he disappeared. 😔

What I’ve now learnt is that it’s very common for this sort of thing to happen. It seems (thanks to my immaturity on the issue) i’ve been living I fairy-tale land until now.. but I’ve been in contact with Home For Good all weekend and I wish I had happier news, but I don’t.

Apparently while humbled by the generosity and kindness of “successfull” people, these guys often get frightened and crumble under the pressure of expectation (they perceive) of the people who have offered to help them.

I wish I could find him to tell him that I’m the one who bare’s that burden (not him), as I’m the one who’s involved you all in this story, but at this stage no luck.

So that’s it at the moment. This is absolutely not what thought this update post would be, but from what I’m learning from Home For Good, I guess I better make friends with disappointment more than rejoicement, and involving you all so soon was my mistake. 😏

FYI: To all who generously donated, it’s literally a 1-click button to have your money returned today. If not and if you decide to leave your money in the gofundme account, I’ll keep you updated on where it goes and when, but at the moment I’ve completely had the wind knocked out of my sails and I’m not sure how to move forward but I still live in hope that things will be ok with Justin and I wasn’t wrong in the first place. 💔🤞😏

25/09/2021

UPDATE ON JUSTIN: https://gofund.me/0497d464

TJ Palmer worked all morning while I was asleep and waking up after night shift, I couldn’t be prouder of her and the generosity of you guys. 🥰

During my slumber after night shift, she contacted a company called https://homeforgood.org.au/ about Justin and told him his story. And as soon as she said he had a job and even went to work after the attack, the fellow just said “Oh no, we’ve gotta go and get this guy”. I sent TJ a map of where he stays at 9am and went back to sleep.

I just went down to see Justin but he wasn’t there, so I’m not sure if the guy’s already been and taken him somewhere, or whether he just wasn’t there. As usual his things were absolutely immaculate, so I left a note for either of them to call me.

Homeforgood has access to medical and dental care, as well as affordable housing and a million other services to help these guys, so I can’t wait to see what happens next. (They don’t know it yet, but I’m about to become their new best friend. 🙋‍♀️😂)

TJ also arranged a GoFundMe with a goal of $500, and you legends have given over $600..! I’ll leave it up to Justin and Homeforgood to decide next steps and just be there cheering them on from the sidelines.

I’m really happy to have homeforgood on board because I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing, and I know these guys will be pro’s, and your moolah will be used in the most efficient way to get bang for your buck and the best for Justin, whatever that is. 👌

At the moment I’d say the priority may be his teeth, but I’ll keep you all updated so you can be proud of what a wonderful thing you’ve done to help someone you don’t even know get another chance at life.

Today is an amazing day. 💫❤️💫

24/09/2021

I have no idea how the world works sometimes.

Today I went to visit Justin to see how he's going and if he's been able to keep his job.

As soon as I saw him I knew something was wrong. His face was scratched and scabbed and he looked like he had tears in his eyes. Turns out he was attacked while he was asleep on Monday night and the offenders LITERALLY kicked his bottom teeth in.

He has no idea who they were or why it happened as he was knocked unconscious and woke up in the hospital, but he showed me his bottom teeth and they're so wobbly I'm sure they won't last the weekend. He said he can't eat and it hurts when air gets into the holes, so no wonder he had tears in his eyes. I could barely control myself as I walked away, wondering what sort of person is capable of attacking someone like that.

Anyway, without me asking he told me he still has his job, except he couldn't go Tuesday or Wednesday because he was in hospital. He said his boss understood and he was working again tonight and I'm so proud of him for that, because if there was ever a reason to give up trying, it's surely being kicked, literally kicked while you're at your most defenseless.

I need to get him off the streets and into a half way house asap. So many of these guys are too far gone to be able to reintegrate back into society, but Justin is different. If the stars align and he can get settled into a clean and well run half way house, this last 10 or so months might just be a distant memory of a time in his life when things went bad, and not the blue print to his future. 😒

19/09/2021

Just around the corner from me right up the top of Queen Street, is a fellow who’s in such bad condition I have an actual pain in my heart and tears spring to my eyes wondering what it must be like to be in such a dark, lonely and despondent place.

I haven’t connected with him before today because he never looks up from the way he’s seated on his bench. And as he doesn’t have a collection cup out, I’m actually not sure how to proceed or even if I should.

But this morning I just said “Morning darling. You alright?” Even though he wasn’t looking at me and he’s obviously nowhere near alright. But it’s a start and hopefully something to build on and I think he even flicked an eye in my direction.

I took this photo without consent, but I figure The Universe will forgive me when it knows what I’m up to. 💫

Kiss your people today folks. 💞