May 2, 2025
From Inner Strength to Advocacy
How a KUC studio gave this young woman space to find her purpose.
When Hannah her mum and three siblings escaped domestic violence, she was just thirteen years old. After their experiences at home and in family court, they needed space to decompress and release the ever-present weight of hypervigilance.
Instead, they struggled to survive.
The cost of private renting pushed the family to the brink. There was no money for electricity or heating, and they relied on foodbanks and bread drives to eat. But even after moving into social housing to ease the financial pressure, there was still no relief.
Living in a cramped two bedroom, one bathroom house, it was impossible for anyone to set normal healthy routines or heal. Hannah and her mother shared a bedroom, and their relationship rapidly began to fracture. Normal mother daughter frustrations spiralled out of control as the raw wounds of trauma grated against their living conditions.
Pushed to her breaking point, Hannah considered leaving home.
The average homeless person in Victoria starts their journey sleeping rough at the tender age of 13 – the age Hannah was when overcrowding made her home unlivable. With a background of family violence, she was even more at risk, as this is the leading cause of youth homelessness.
Early intervention was critical to prevent Hannah from becoming one of the 45,800 young people (aged 0-25) who are homeless in Australia every night.
Luckily, Hannah and her family had been working with a school counsellor named Debbie, who went above and beyond to help. Working with Anglicare and Kids Under Cover, Debbie had first helped the family get placed in public housing, with the plan to build a Kids Under Cover studio in the backyard. While the wait to receive the studio was tough, it was the tether of hope that kept Hannah at home.
When it was finally time to move into the studio with her sister, Hannah felt an immense sense of relief and excitement.
“It was surreal. It was the first time in my life I’d had my own room,” Hannah says. “It felt like a big stride in my independence, but it kept me at home so much longer. Really, it facilitated an extension of my childhood.”
With the space to process their experiences, the family’s relationships healed. Before receiving the studio, Hannah and her mum had been unable to see eye to eye on anything. They were on the edge of losing their relationship completely. But with the ability to take time apart came the desire to reconnect.
“With the distance, I could see her clearly, and I realised I missed my mum,” Hannah says. “Today she’s my best friend and confidante. We hang out every week, and we just talk about everything.”
“In my experience, the line between victim and offender is paper thin. If I hadn’t gotten my studio, who knows where I could have ended up,” Hannah says. “I know advocacy through criminal defence is where I’m meant to be. I want to be there to help people take accountability and have agency over their own lives.”
Today, Hannah has graduated from her law degree, and is working hard towards passing the bar, and working as a paralegal. She’s driven by a deep sense of fairness and empathy, fostered by the people who helped her along her journey.
Hannah is living proof of the profound impact that our combined efforts can have in shaping a brighter future for young people.
That’s why through Target450, we want to create 450 more stories like Hannah’s, and place 450 more young people in our early intervention programs.
But we can only do that with government support.
Will you help us hit Target450, so more incredible young people like Hannah can build the life they deserve? You can become a Target450 supporter by sharing this article, or sign up to your support help us go beyond Target450 and house even more people.
Help us stop youth homelessness before it starts.
Support Kids Under Cover’s vision to prevent and end youth homelessness for an extra 450 young people every night.
