Turning over a new leaf

Paige’s story of finding stability and hope in a Kids Under Cover studio

Paige used to have a ‘go bag’ packed and ready for the days she couldn’t cope in the house anymore. “Sometimes I just didn’t want to sleep at home…” she says. “So I would try to find other avenues.”

She might stay with her partner again or at her nan’s, but eventually, she knew she’d have to go back to sleeping on the couch at home.

“Even when I did stay somewhere else, it still didn’t erase the problem,” she says. “Like, I still had to go back home. Which was ok, except it was always in the back of my mind that, yeah, I’m going to my mum’s but I’m going back to the couch”.

Of all the young people seeking housing support last year, 28% (6,800) were couch surfing.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2024

Paige has three brothers and a new baby sister. Two of the boys have their own room and one shares time between his mum’s house and his dad’s.

It became too awkward for Paige to claim a room and sharing wasn’t an option. “They’re boys, you know? They don’t really want to share with a girl. Neither do I want to share with them!”

Paige is 19 and studying Arts/Law at Melbourne University. She’s always been ‘book smart’ and says that her drive to learn is something that will ‘exist for ever’. But her circumstances at home were making it hard for her to focus.

Overcrowding has been associated with increased risk of emotional and behavioural problems and can be attributed to a reduced school performance…

Solari & Mare 2012

The impact of a disrupted routine

Soon, the uncertainty began to take an emotional and physical toll. Paige says she was often snappy with her family. She’d get mad at them for things she says weren’t really their fault. Silly things. The stress of not knowing where she was going to stay each night exacerbated an underlying anxiety. And she began to lose track of what and how much she was eating.

“We realised that everywhere I was going, I wasn’t really eating properly. Or I was forgetting to eat. Or I’d go somewhere and not get around to having a proper meal. So that turned into a bit of an issue. I had to focus a lot more on making sure I was getting what I needed to stay healthy.”

Young people who are couch surfing have much higher levels of psychological distress than their peers.

Hail-Jares & Vichta 2021

Her study also began to suffer. She found she was taking more classes online and just scraping through in areas where she would usually thrive.

“The instability definitely affected things. I’d have to try to plan out where I was going to be each week which would kind of eat into my study time. I didn’t feel like I could study well. I wasn’t failing but I certainly wasn’t at the top of my game.”

An unstable home is associated with decreased engagement in the classroom and, when coupled with frequent school moves, is associated with poor academic achievement.

Fantuzzo et al. 2012

Finding relief in a space of her own

Paige is now living in a Kids Under Cover studio in her backyard at home. She says the difference it’s made has been incredible. She’s close to her mum, she has a structured routine and for the first time in a long time, she has a space she can make her own.

Paige has made the studio space her own, and enjoys the comfort of her own space.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” she explains. “It’s just changed my energy a lot and I’m more secure in the fact that this is my home, this is where I sleep. I’m a lot bubblier. Like I can tell that emotionally, I’ve settled down a lot more. I’m not on edge every day not knowing where I’m going to sleep.

“Now I can actually have friends over. Before I was always asking them – in the nicest way possible – ‘can we stay at your house?’ … Now, I have a room of my own to invite people into”.

“I love my quiet time. My down time. My ‘please don’t talk to me’ time. My studies are so much better this year and I’m able to go to class and exercise more and devote energy to the things I want to do that last year I just couldn’t.”

Additional space… was fundamental in the reestablishment of a sense of home for young people, providing the capacity for privacy, development of identity, sense of belonging and attachment.

Stolz 2019

With stability at home, Paige says she’s able to think further ahead. She’s not yet sure where her studies will lead her, but she’s pretty sure she’ll pursue a degree in law. For now, she’s happy to know she has the comfort and privacy of her own room to come home to.

“I can’t tell you how much the stress level has gone down,” she says.

“And I feel like so much more of my energy can be put into the things I love”.

“I can put effort into myself and my studies and seeing friends and getting into hobbies. It’s been really nice to be able to personalise a room. Like, this room isn’t going anywhere, I’m not packing my little suitcase every day wondering where I might be sleeping tonight.”

*Feature image: @aber.artist – Merri Creek Trail, Coburg