Georgia’s Story: finding stability and a way forward
When Georgia talks about where she is today, she speaks with confidence and clarity. She is rebuilding her life, reconnecting with her community and rediscovering what it means to feel safe and supported.
Georgia is a former resident of The Haymarket Centre, where she stayed after experiencing a prolonged period of homelessness, complex mental health needs and acute instability.
Before arriving at Haymarket, Georgia moved between hospital stays, hotels, backpacker accommodation and a stranger’s house, before eventually returning to the street. Despite actively seeking help, she struggled to find somewhere safe and stable to go.
“I was so isolated and lonely,” Georgia said. “I’d been in and out of hospital, but when I was discharged, I had nowhere I could stay.”
After returning to hospital to seek rehabilitation support, Georgia was referred to The Haymarket Foundation - a moment she describes as a turning point.
“That referral changed everything,” she said. “For the first time in years, I had somewhere I could stay for more than a week. I was safe.”
Georgia spent five months at Haymarket’s Crisis Centre. While having a safe place to stay was essential, she says it was also the foundation for rebuilding confidence, independence and everyday living skills.
“The moral support was just as important as anything practical,” Georgia explained. “Haymarket became the starting point for my return to the community.”
For the first time in a long time, Georgia had her own space. That sense of privacy, security and routine allowed her to begin rebuilding independence at her own pace.
“I had to relearn how to look after myself and my space,” she said.
Through Haymarket, Georgia was also connected with the Ozanam Learning Centre, a drop in community hub offering creative and learning opportunities. There, she found connection and meaning through art, music and group activities.
“It gave me permission to improve my quality of life,” Georgia said. “It helped me see myself as a human again.”
Life after crisis
Today, Georgia lives in transitional housing and remains well connected to her community. She helps facilitate a peer support group and describes her life as stable, supported and moving forward.
“When you’ve been knocked back so many times, you become tough - too tough to ask for help,” she reflected. “I’m proud that I found the courage to ask, and grateful I found people who were there when I did.”
Georgia’s experience shows what becomes possible when stability is in place, and the role crisis and transitional housing can play in helping people move beyond homelessness and rebuild their lives.
Supported through the Housing Australia Future Fund – Crisis and Transitional (HAFF CT) program, the Haymarket Foundation’s Crisis Centre provides safe, supported accommodation for people with complex needs, including women impacted by domestic and family violence and people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Delivered by Bridge Housing, in partnership with the Haymarket Foundation, government partners including Homes NSW and the City of Sydney, and supported by Lendlease’s social impact FutureSteps program, the project helps address critical gaps in inner Sydney’s crisis accommodation system and supports people to move beyond crisis.
More broadly, projects delivered through the HAFF CT are creating significant, life changing outcomes for vulnerable Australians.
For Georgia, that impact is deeply personal. “They helped me remember how to take care of myself again,” she said. “They gave me a real chance.”
Georgia’s story is a powerful reminder that when crisis accommodation is delivered with care, dignity and purpose, it can become the foundation for lasting change.