Viewer discretion advised - mental health and illicit drug references. May trigger some audiences
As you participate in the marathon, what message would you like to convey to others about the issue of homelessness and the importance of supporting organisations like Fletcher Street Cottage?
Especially in this unstable world, homelessness can happen to anyone and at any time and that regardless of class, wealth, or material comfort, we all have struggles. We are all in this life together; some more fortunate, some not, some that have had solid support and some not.
To me, it appears that worldwide, so many of us limit our humanity. It appears that many of us have pre-conditions to helping mainly just those we trust, family, friends or work colleagues. At times, I feel that so many of us are consumed within a box of ‘me first’ that we often fall into a state of disengagement; and just as it does with myself, the blinkers go on. Thus, so many of those that may be perceived as helpless, are then abandoned. The preconceived idea that homeless people are lower than us or that they have simply given up on the fight of life is a widely common concept. Yes, elements of this might be true, but we are all in the same fight, division just deepens the blows.
Life shouldn't be a fight, and the more of us that bind together, the more life can be shared and not fought like a daily battlefield of survival, ‘me first’ and silent struggles that suppress our emotions. Plus, potentially our best teachers can be found on the street, and in my experience, I have seen this time and time again.
Just like the guy driving the Ferrari that was abandoned as a child, trauma hurts and materialism will only ever patch it up. Whether we continue to act ok, use materialism to prove something or just go through life being too busy for others that may need us, welcome us and even help us by opening our eyes, homelessness is real, and can happen to any of us. To me, we are all Brothers and Sisters of the same invisible, yet achievable goal; loving togetherness.
By supporting 'Off The Street On Our Feet' you are supporting Fletcher Street Cottage. Without our cottage, so many rough sleepers would not have that quiet glimpse of morning hope as they peer open their eyes knowing that they have a safe space to go to. There are far too many lost souls in this world.
Like I said, homelessness can happen to anyone and at any time (it only takes a flood to show us that) so by supporting places like Fletcher Street Cottage, you are contributing to a place that in reality; we all may need some day.
How has the local community responded to your campaign? Have you received any support or encouragement from individuals or organisations within the community?
From the off, and despite my own anxiety, fear, panic and the dying urge to remain introverted, the more I stumbled through my words to express the vision of 'Off The Street On Our Feet' the more I realised how astounding the response was. It really didn't matter who I spoke to, the community loved the idea. I have never actively asked for anything really, so asking for community help was foreign to me. However, when I did, the results were as clear as day. The general responses were collaborative, compassionate and connections were made.
Be it a custom made trophy from 'North Coast Trophies', a local bank manager going out of her way to personally organise a rental minivan for race day and to chauffeur us or the two anonymous donations of over $500, from the very beginning, the community were getting behind us.
For me personally, the support of Byron Bay Runners has been instrumental in the success of 'Off The Street On Our Feet'. Due to the many challenges in attendance, excuses and being let down, more than once I nearly gave up and whilst running with the Byron Bay Runners Club too. Yet, they always empowered me to see the bigger picture and to not give up on myself because others have let me down. Therefore, and on many occasions, our conversations kept me going.
Not only have they donated running shoes, running socks and some running attire but the accountability that they have held by committing to run with us 3 times per week has been pivotal. We have been invited into their group via track training, trial runs and we are always amongst a running coach or two, even a doctor.
Whether we have been given a full and custom based running program, advice on nutrition, or been set up with an ABC interview, without their help, none of what has happened could have been possible. Further to that; help with designing our 'Off The Street On Our Feet' T-shirts and singlets was also supported with their help. Be it leadership advice, offering to pick up our race day bibs from the Gold Coast or arranging for our first cheque donation presentation, this is true support, true encouragement and true community collaboration.
Running a marathon is a significant physical and mental challenge. How have you been preparing for it, and what motivates you to keep going during training?
For me, I usually jump into things without thinking, preparing or even giving myself a reality check. Therefore, in hindsight, once I had the initial vision, running the half marathon did not seem a challenge. However, and in relation to the physical, mental and motivational preparations, there is a slight backstory to this.
In active avoidance towards sleeping on the streets, it wasn’t just an acute mental health facility I partially used as a so-called ‘safe space’ in mid October 2022. Back on the 4th of September 2022 was not only the date I was officially homeless but this was also the date I managed to get a confirmed spot on an 11-day silent meditation retreat (Vipassana). This was to be held in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, and it started the very next day. Little did I know that this 11-day retreat would certainly be both a physical challenge due to me doing an 8 day fast, but it would also be the exact mental challenge that I would be needing to complete a full marathon. After pulling a few strings, I was on the road from Gatton, Queensland to the Blue Mountains, NSW.
So, why do I mention all this? As it highlights the mindset I used to have in regards to preparation which I have since learnt the importance of; especially as we are learning so much from our Byron Bay running coaches. For example, the day after I had finished the 11-day silent meditation retreat, I was driving into Sydney to stay on a friend’s couch. It was at this point when I saw a road sign saying ‘Sydney Marathon - Sunday September 18th’. As it was Friday evening, I knew I had no time to train, but I also knew that the Sydney marathon was strangely on my main ‘manifest list’ I had written several years prior.
Skipping forward to the race day itself early that Sunday morning, I was soon enough; lined up and ready to run a 42km marathon. The only thing that separated me from my 4 hours and 45 minutes final race time during one of the most mentally challenging, physically demanding and emotionally charged tests of my life was a ‘7 News’ Television interview. Hence, I pushed myself to ask the film crew and was then interviewed minutes before the race. They asked the questions, I answered, then the starting gun went off.
Therefore, and moving forward to my recent ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ vision, preparing for the half marathon and with the audience I was wanting to gather as a team, it was important to train. I did try to get us to enter the full marathon but rightly so, I was given effective feedback from Fletcher Street Cottage and I listened. From run 1 to the current run of 26, it was just as important for training my mind to be realistic as it was for our core team of those either on the streets or at risk of homelessness. Doing a full marathon from being on the streets was clearly unrealistic so as I went against my highly expectational headspace, I was openly humbled.
Being humbled is something I never thought possible as just like others in our small group, I have noticed this overconfidence too. I guess being on the streets, growing up tough and having to survive at all costs gives us an element of ‘we can’ and ‘we will’. Hence the custom made trophy being a great incentive to reward healthy competition or in my eyes ‘male ego’ (myself firmly included) by having the fastest name of our group engraved. So yep, it may seem like I went around the houses with this question, but as I feel that so many of us have lost the power of story, testimony, and honesty; expressing that felt important to me.
What really keeps me going during our training runs would be those glimpses of magic that are so unique, yet truly awe-inspiring in their own right. The real, raw, and rugged conversations between us and the Byron Bay runners club. The overcoming of substance misuse the night before as we know we have a run the next day. The intent to listen to positive coaching and advice from Byron Bay runners club as we are running. And lastly, what motivates and keeps me going are the small wins like the pride I have seen in the faces of those who I know have been through incredible amounts of hardship. The occasion shouts of ‘yeah boy’. The beauty of discovering not only running tracks but so many tracks that we all never knew existed. The intrigue of something new, something healthy, something mentally fulfilling and something that has a goal, a purpose and a finishing line.
That’s what motivates me. That’s what keeps me going, and that’s what stops me from not giving up despite the non-attendance, the habitual patterns and the alternative choices.
Reflecting on your own journey, what advice would you give to others who may be facing homelessness or going through challenging circumstances?
Never stop working. Never stop believing. Never give up and most of all, never forget that this ain’t just about you. Yes, your story may be brutal, and as you are left dealing with the consequences of a traumatic, abusive or neglectful childhood paused in time, you’re far greater than the man or woman you think you are. If deep down you want it, you have more than what it takes to make it happen.
As I watch on and see a man screaming down the street in Byron Bay, many watch on, many laugh and many even take videos. There it is, the world we live in. As I was told just yesterday, just like the same occasion as above, a random man from the crowd openly takes a stand and says ‘God bless that man’ and prays for him saying things like ‘dear God, please help this deeply hurting man. He may have given up on life to the point of feeling nothing, but once he was a sweet innocent child. Please God show him the way’. To me, this one person that stood up to say that; is a person who we need more of. Yes, if someone is clearly high and could perhaps be a danger, just our word to others, our actions in response and even an open prayer is enough.
In society in general, the world may turn a blind eye to the very real struggles that are right in front of them, but this is where the beauty comes in. What if we are all in the exact same boat going through life perplexed to what it all means and never truly knowing how it should be, go or being unbeknown to what path we should truly take. People that are homeless are just obvious cases that are on show to others and that have in one way or another, fallen victim to life, to hurt, to pain or to misfortune. Maybe the people that are seen as lower than, are the ones with the chance to reverse the upturned table. Perhaps an addictive mindset is just a coping mechanism to persistently keep putting a bandaid on the same old wound.
Personally, I’ve travelled the world trying to heal my wounds but it’s just a form of escapism. Be it alcoholism since I was 14 years of age, wanting crack cocaine so bad nothing else mattered or becoming incredibly addicted to crystal meth, it’s all just a method of not facing whatever I’m running from. By running from it, how would we ever truly know what it is that we are running from? And how would we ever know what is on the other side if we never even tried? Why do I mention this? Because it doesn’t matter whether it's distraction; being too busy, endlessly scrolling through social media or climbing corporate ladders, they are all the same thing. Even feeling comfort or security at speaking behind someone's back, hiding behind humour or continually looking for answers outside of yourself, in my eyes, and through my experience, it’s all escapism.
Whether this escapism comes through the effortlessness of being too lazy to get up off your sofa, off the street, get away from the TV, or through unhealthy eating habits, there are so many ways that so many of us try and justify ourselves. Metaphorically speaking, by at least putting on your running shoes, tying up your shoelaces and preparing yourself to open up the door to what is ready for you to face, to define you and to show you what you are capable of, it starts with just a step; just one step. As you try standing up for life, and not just dwelling in the same circulation based on some kind of victimhood mindset that to be honest, will only ever get tedious, boring and meaningless; why not chance the unknown?
No matter how brutal life has been, we all have a chance to be a life-changing blessing and a life-saving role model to others. Through true stories, authentic testimonies and heart-felt words that cut through the pointless small talk most of us accept and adhere to comes the power to change not only our own lives but the lives of many. There has never been a better time than now where so many of us are not only ready to listen but we will be nicely awoken to the fact that such honest words relate to us all far more than we may have thought.
Let’s face it, most homeless people have faced rejection of some kind so why sit wallowing in it? Why not use that same rejection as a tool to the fact that you have a priceless ability to be someone that already has experienced hardship in the face of adversity. Full respect to those that just enjoy playing music, busking, living free and not subjecting themselves to a stagnant address, but the question was about challenging circumstances. I’m only just at the start of facing my own self and as I clearly have a gift in written expression, this doesn’t mean I am going through tremendous anxiety in my physical interaction. We can all wear a mask, and truth be told, so many of us hide our true selves behind some kind of mask, myself absolutely included. It's all about the first step.
What kind of impact do you hope to make through your marathon campaign and the funds raised for Fletcher Street Cottage? Are there any specific programs or initiatives within FSC that you intend to support?
For me, the main impact of 'Off The Street On Our Feet’ is not going to come via the fundraiser but the chance to break stigmas, judgements and attitudes towards homelessness and what better way to do it other than actually doing it? No talking it up, just turning up.
One thing I love about the entirety of ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ is the fact that so many people in our world say they will do this and they will do that. However, and in my experience, so often, many of these talkers never get as far as even getting on the field so the fact that ‘we are’ and that ‘we will’ says it all to me. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, how often are incredible visions put off, wild dreams procrastinated against or even childhood wishes easily excused as too difficult, too challenging or too farfetched to overcome.
If so many people already tucked up in their warm homes can laugh at the prospect of doing a half or a full marathon, then from my perspective, I need to understand that for someone on the street, just putting their shoes on to run during training is an achievement in itself. It is this exact reality that I am literally doing all I can, and to try and hold up as high as I can.
Despite the daily doubts, the ease of falling back into alcoholism or the penetrating anxiety every time I have to face someone as part of the ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’, to me, the progress may be small, but one day, this could be essential. Therefore, I honestly feel that our ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ fundraiser could be showcased as an example to the world. What comes of it only God knows, but by at least meeting him half way, and the more people that become an active part, why should there be a limit.
Within Fletcher Street Cottage, and also the Byron Bay Community Centre, by utilising the visionary-based initiative I have strived to make happen, and then turn it into a physical reality; the groundwork is already done. The help has been effective, but moving forward, ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ can be used as a huge stepping stone to gather unprecedented momentum. I would go as far to say that if there were more resources, volunteers and/or focus put towards ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ that it could be used as a huge incentive to gather many donations. Not just locally, but worldwide. The custom made trophy already has the space for at least 5 years worth of annual Gold Coast marathon runs designated specifically to Fletcher Street Cottage and ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’.
Thus far, I have seen many local fundraisers being incredibly successful that are directed entirely to Fletcher Street Cottage but what if there was a branch off to the cottage or even to the Byron Bay Community Centre and it was called ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’. I mean, the foundations are grounded. We have collaboration. We have support. We even have a local teacher in Ballina using this project in their classrooms to educate children in community-based projects and humanity-based incentives. Be it financially, physically and even through wearing attire such as supporter T-Shirts which also brings in donations, I feel this is unearthed gold, and it’s ours to find it, shape it into jewellery and spread it afar.
Lastly, what message would you like to share with our audience about the importance of supporting homeless shelters and the individuals they serve? What impact can their support have on someone experiencing homelessness?
That there are so many people in our world that need a helping hand. Yes, at first this hand may be to pull someone up by providing hot food but in time, empowering that person to get off the street and on their feet may be more of a long term solution. Just as the Byron Bay runners club come in and share our stories and vice versa, not only are they experiencing surroundings they may have never been a part of but it brings people together, and of all walks of life.
I just feel it’s worth highlighting the band-aid effect and that if I was personally living on the street, I would soon get comfortable with homeless shelters. I would soon get used to the people using them and just like the institutionalisation of prisons, I would settle for that daily comfort. If I ever got bored I would most likely be like ‘next town, next shelter’ and so I shall continue. As for Centrelink and government payments, if I got them, that would just fuel my alcoholism or addictive mindset. I even went through a phase of even becoming addicted to the ‘need’ to get free food, charity-based vouchers, community support and assistance but luckily, I saw the pattern unfolding before the habit became the norm. Yes, habits can be tough to break but as I have expressed in this blog post, it just takes one step.
To me, what is actually happening is that so many rough sleepers are potentially missing the opportunity to become the person they know they can be. Plus, the streets are not only dangerous but as I have been privy to the reality of homelessness, these dangers can end up in homeless people going missing, being killed or other similar fates. I can easily sit here and say that many homeless people do actually enjoy living on the streets but to mind, I don’t think I have ever heard of a motivational story of empowerment coming from it.
As I expressed in a recent magazine article, if a dentist in America can have an initial idea and turn it into gold then so can we. In his case, he actively provides homeless people with free dental work to bring back their smile. Then, he helps them get back on their feet through job opportunities. Coming from a different angle, we have the exact same opportunity and due to the wider audience not limited to a dental professional, there are no limits on how far ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ can go. Food and shelter is a great start, and led by the heart, but overall, it’s still a band-aid.
Lastly, if the local community can get behind ‘Off The Street On Our Feet’ and that’s with a ridiculously low amount of exposure, I wonder how many other people there are out there that would secretly love to be a part of something so unique, yet life-giving.
To learn more about the 'Off The Street, On Our Feet' Campaign, visit our website or donate here.
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