As a Cockroach Crawls a Feature by droneyk (Kim Droney) Beyond the bright lights and the scent of Asian food, Brisbane's Fortitude Valley shows it's true self and the real battlers of the city. The strong paint of gold accents the whole area with brilliant splashes of yellow and red but take a closer look at Brisbane's Fortitude Valley and you'll see a side of dirt, depression and poverty. Every weekend rich business men pour into the local strip clubs and bars to happily re-leave themselves of their hard earned dollars while ignoring the "bum" huddled in the doorway from the cold who cherishes his last drop of cask wine. Fortitude Valley is a Mecca for the poor and desolate with a large population of underprivileged who have turned the local Brunswick railway station and China Town Mall into their permanent residence. Edna is 69 years old with no money, no family and no home. She had been living on the streets for the past two weeks due to her leaving a boarding house because of sexual harassment from the men residing there. After sleeping in a park Edna turned to the Brisbane City mission for help. Ms Judy Roberts, a social welfare officer at the Brisbane City mission said they have seen every problem imaginable come through their front doors. 'We get women who are being abused, kids who have run away and even someone who couldn't handle the grief of their dog dying. Nothings to big or small for us. The youngest we've had was an eleven year old who was on the run from an abusive step-father. We couldn't report him to family services because they would have sent him back to his family and he would have never come back near us. We introduced him to some other older kids in the area so he wasn't so vulnerable, he's doing all right now' states Ms Roberts. But citizens in the world of poverty have different standards of 'alright' than those who live in the suburbs. Ms Roberts tells of a young man who came through the doors with no place to live and returned happily in a few days time to tell her he'd found somewhere; a comfortable place near the Storey Bridge. When I asked her if it was a house she told me 'no not quite'. Apparently, he had dug a hole in the ground to keep the wind off him under the Storey Bridge and gathered cardboard for shelter. Yet, he was happy because at last he had a 'home'. The Storey Bridge is home for many in inner Brisbane, so are parks, the New Farm toilet blocks and perhaps even under a shrub. The person needing help may even be one1s next door neighbour. Ms Roberts remembers a woman who was separated from her husband come to her for help. The woman's husband had come to her home and raped her in front of her four children then proceeded to rape his 12 year old daughter. The girl suffered injuries from the rape but went to school the next day because she didn't want to explain her absence to her friends. Ms Roberts has also seen many families eventually come after desperation. 'When they come here they have such a look of hopelessness. Their kids haven't eaten and they can't send them to school because they have nothing to give them for lunch'. Brisbane City Mission last year saw 12,000 people in need of assistance for gambling addictions, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, unemployment and poverty. 'Sometimes they just need to talk.' Ms. Roberts explains. 'A lot of them come in and just ask for a food package but when they get talking you know that having nothing to eat isn't the only problem. We put them through counseling where we give them just a day to day plan for their lives. Many just need to get out of that feeling of despair to make a change to their self esteem'. Lack of self esteem and the feeling that there's no hope can also lead to comfort in alcohol and drugs. 'Heaps of the people we counsel are on the methadone program, we've even had some come in here that have overdosed. If we ever want to find someone we go down to the Brunswick St. Railway station. You can count that on pay day they'll be down there shooting up'. Staff at the City Mission also have to be careful in the toilets because users who come in for showers at the center often leave used syringes behind. 'We had a scheme where we gave out pain killers for people who wanted them. We had to stop because kids were getting addicted to paracetamol-codine pain killers. We only fund drugs that have a prescription now for those who really need it. If they don't spend it on drugs then many of them spend it on alcohol and drink it away.' There are times when it gets to much for her and her day is similar to a roller-coaster ride. 'You go through real highs and lows.' Ms. Roberts admits. 'Just when you think everything is going great something happens and you feel like your starting again but it can also work the other way. I don't have much sympathy for my kids when they say they've had a terrible day because the can't make their computer work or something like that. I always remind them how lucky we are to have a nice home in the suburbs with a family that love them. I find it hard to help them with their problems when I've heard the problems of other people all day and their problems seem so minor compared to what I've heard'. She also estimates that a quarter of the people she sees are mentally ill. There is an element of danger associated with her job as well. 'I get threats regularly, someone even said they'd shoot me. Sometimes the men will get a crush on you because they haven't had someone that cares about them in their lives for a long time and they'll follow me to my car at night.' Her husband has asked her on several occasions to leave her job because of the risk involved. 'It's certainly an exciting job and it's never boring. My mother keeps saying 'isn't there something else you can do?' and all the people that go to church keep asking me why I do this job' Ms Roberts carefully explains. 'The work here is truly a thankless task and I certainly don't do it for the money. I only get $19,000 a year and I work five days a week. You have to only do this because you care. I tend to pray a lot and just hope that I can make a difference.' Brisbane City Mission Fundraising Coordinator, Ms Robynne Milne states that the government grants provided less than seven per cent of income last year and that much of the center1s income comes from donations from the community. 'This year we are spending more time on individual cases to get to the root of the problem. For one reason or another there are people that will never be employed but we are seeing more families and people who are employed that just can't make ends meet. You have to remember that someone who isn't homeless might be homeless tomorrow.' Ms Milne explains. Judy Roberts tells me something as I casually look at the cockroach crawling up the wall of the 135 year old building that lifts my heart after hearing countless stories of sadness. Edna the 69 year old woman has somewhere to live and to make things better, it's house which has replaced her 'home' in the streets. It just goes to show that under the grim and past the gold paint the valley's heart beats strong. Created on 00/00/00 and last modified on Thu, 30 Oct 1997.

LOUDonline - http://www.loud.net.au - Fri, 10 Apr 1998