Five years out of Triple Care Farm, Saige is happy and healthy – grateful for the opportunity she was given.
Saige is a smiley 23-year-old. She turned to Triple Care Farm for help at 18 years of age. She was in a grim situation and describes her life before the farm as, “no sleep, no place to sleep, no family, lots of fear, lots of trouble. It was a horrible place.”
“I always said I would never do ice”, she explains, but she also didn’t know what ice looked like – so when her friend offered it to her one day, she took it. When she found out that it was ice it was too late – she was addicted. It only took one time and from that point onwards, Saige was taking ice for a year and a half. Out of school and avoiding home due to her mum’s abusive partner, she was soon homeless and unable to hold down a job.
At her lowest point – homeless and sleeping in a tent on the beach, she admitted to herself that she had lost control and desperately needed help. This is when she found the farm. Her life was transformed and she got a job as a cook as soon as she moved back into the community. It wasn’t easy but, with the support of the Aftercare Worker, she was able to find her feet and has been working ever since. Her relationship with her family is mended and she is healthier than she has ever been.
Reflecting back, she says, “When you’re on a drug like that for so long, your brain changes. It changes your perspective of the world and it’s hard to get your train of thought back. You’re stuck in this weird, paranoid state. It completely changes you. But you ease back into it and realise that the world is a good place.”
It is wonderful to catch up with young people down the track to see how they are getting on, and to see how Triple Care Farm creates remarkable, sustained changes for young people. Well done Saige, and thank you to everyone who helped give Saige this opportunity.
*Name changed to protect privacy; stock image used.