Uniting WA | The Path Home | Homelessness Week 2025
2 min
Emma's Path Home
Uniting WA
Emma has had years of stability – but it wasn't always like that. Since childhood, she's known what it is to struggle.
In 1981, Emma developed a physical disability after she was hit by a car. She and her family had only just moved from Ireland to Perth.
She was the one of the first Telethon kids.
Soon after the accident, her father kidnapped Emma, taking her to Queensland. She wouldn't see her mum again for 8 years. She suffered regular beatings from her dad. She was young, scared, and alone.
Emma's dad kicked her out of home when she was 15, and she slept on the street for 6 months before being housed in a girls' home run by a local church. After the girls' home was no longer able to support her, she lived on the streets for another 9 months.
A local charity found Emma's mum and flew her to Kalgoorlie, where the chaos died down for a while. Later, Emma would become a nurse for 16 years, start a family, and have four kids.
Sadly, this was not her fairytale ending. Emma fled with her children after experiencing domestic violence, and the 5 of them lived in her car for many years while on the public housing waitlist.
They stayed at women's shelters when there was space, and Emma would volunteer at homeless shelters in exchange for food.
The toll of her trauma and the hardship she faced caused Emma to struggle with her mental health. After ending up in hospital, she was visited by Uniting WA and Ruah. Uniting WA offered her supported housing with the Uniting WA Independent Living Program.
Emma now has a NDIS plan and regular support.
She's a strong self-advocate and likes to self-manage her NDIS plan. She isn't big on visitors but is ok with NDIS and Uniting workers coming into her home.
Davina from Uniting helps her with housing issues, renovations, damage, correspondence, maintenance; she can call her anytime. Through her struggles, including multiple bouts of cancer, Emma has stayed strong through it all.
Her brother is in the air force but lives close by. Her mum passed recently, and her dad is in Perth, but is estranged.
She is now in her ‘forever home' with the Independent Living Program and feels like it reflects her personality well. Recently, her daughter taught her how to do her own makeup, and she lives with her beloved furry friend, a support dog named Chloe.
Emma recently decorated her house with a lot of purple. She's thrilled with how it turned out.
In 1981, Emma developed a physical disability after she was hit by a car. She and her family had only just moved from Ireland to Perth.
She was the one of the first Telethon kids.
Soon after the accident, her father kidnapped Emma, taking her to Queensland. She wouldn't see her mum again for 8 years. She suffered regular beatings from her dad. She was young, scared, and alone.
Emma's dad kicked her out of home when she was 15, and she slept on the street for 6 months before being housed in a girls' home run by a local church. After the girls' home was no longer able to support her, she lived on the streets for another 9 months.
A local charity found Emma's mum and flew her to Kalgoorlie, where the chaos died down for a while. Later, Emma would become a nurse for 16 years, start a family, and have four kids.
Sadly, this was not her fairytale ending. Emma fled with her children after experiencing domestic violence, and the 5 of them lived in her car for many years while on the public housing waitlist.
They stayed at women's shelters when there was space, and Emma would volunteer at homeless shelters in exchange for food.
The toll of her trauma and the hardship she faced caused Emma to struggle with her mental health. After ending up in hospital, she was visited by Uniting WA and Ruah. Uniting WA offered her supported housing with the Uniting WA Independent Living Program.
Emma now has a NDIS plan and regular support.
She's a strong self-advocate and likes to self-manage her NDIS plan. She isn't big on visitors but is ok with NDIS and Uniting workers coming into her home.
Davina from Uniting helps her with housing issues, renovations, damage, correspondence, maintenance; she can call her anytime. Through her struggles, including multiple bouts of cancer, Emma has stayed strong through it all.
Her brother is in the air force but lives close by. Her mum passed recently, and her dad is in Perth, but is estranged.
She is now in her ‘forever home' with the Independent Living Program and feels like it reflects her personality well. Recently, her daughter taught her how to do her own makeup, and she lives with her beloved furry friend, a support dog named Chloe.
Emma recently decorated her house with a lot of purple. She's thrilled with how it turned out.
© Uniting WA. Real people, real stories published by Uniting WA.
The person featured in this story has a lived experience of homelessness and has been supported by Uniting WA.
Homelessness is a wicked problem, but it's not impossible to solve. With support along the way, people can find their path home.
Learn more at unitingwa.org.au
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