Title:Invisible homelessness: When living in your car becomes your only option

At 60, Deb never imagined she would find herself without a roof over her head, having to resort to living in her car.

在60岁的时候，黛布拉从来没想到自己没有头顶的屋顶，只能住她的车。

"Last year in July I was hospitalised after a person in a carpark found me in my car and I was very, very sick; I couldn't stand," she said.

去年7月，我住院了，一个披着毯子的人在我的车上找到了我，我病得很重，我不能战力，她说。

"Through circumstance that was out of my control, this happened. And it could happen to anyone."

无法控制的情况发生了，这种情况可能发生在任何人身上。

In 2017 the cost of Deb's rental accommodation went up, she was without work and she found herself in a position where she could no longer keep up with her bills.

2017年，黛布的租房费用上涨，她没工作，发现自己无法再支付房租了。

"I was in private rental and was paying $230 a week for a bed sitter which was just horrible — it had no heating, no smoke alarm, no space.

我那是每周付230美元买一个很糟糕的床铺，没有暖气，没有烟雾警报，没有空间。

"They were going to put the rent up and so I left that accommodation and temporarily went to Queanbeyan where I thought I could get cheaper accommodation.

房东打算把房租抬高，所以我离开那间房子临时到昆比恩，我以为在那里可以买到便宜的房子。

"Cheaper accommodation was non-existent."

“根本没有便宜的住处”。

Without the option to stay with family or friends, Deb found somewhere to stay in a long-term caravan park.

由于没有办法选择与家人或朋友待在一起，黛布拉在某个地方可以待在一个长期的车队公园里。

"They were charging up to $500 a week, which quickly put me in the position where I had no money to pay the registration on my car.

他们每周收费500美元，这让我很快陷入无钱入驻的境况。

"I ended up going through what savings I had while I was there.

在我去的时候我花了多少积蓄。

"I didn't have the choice of going to be with my mother because she was very sick with dementia; she couldn't help me even if she wanted to.

我没有选择和妈妈在一起，因为她患有痴呆症；即使她想，她也无法帮助我。

"I was on my own except for my cat."

我除了猫之外，还独自一人。

Unsure of where to turn and embarrassed by her situation, Deb sought out a car park where she could park for free with nearby access to a public toilet, a library and a supermarket.

尴尬又不知道该去哪里，她找到了一个停车场，在那里她可以利用在附近的公共厕所、图书馆和超市里免费停车。

"I would go into the public bathroom and change my clothes every couple of days but I was so embarrassed about being seen," she said.

我去公共厕所，每隔几天就会换衣服，但是我对于被看见而感到尴尬。

"It was just terrible not being able to wash my hair or have a shower.

无法洗我的头发或淋浴是很糟糕的。

"It was the middle of winter and I would try to get some sleep in the day time because I was scared to go to sleep of a night time.

那是个冬天，我会尽量在白天睡觉，因为我害怕晚上睡觉。

"I felt safe in the day time to doze off in the sun just sitting in my car."

我觉得白天很安全，在阳光下打瞌睡，只是坐在我的车里。

For almost five weeks, Deb survived sleeping rough in her car.

几乎五个星期以来，黛布在汽车里睡得很粗糙。

"I was scared of people noticing that I was there and being a female on my own.

我害怕人们知道我在那里，并注意到我是个女人。

"I was scared of being physically or worse sexually assaulted."

我害怕遭受身体上的伤害或者更严重的性攻击。

For Deb, the experience taught her how quickly some people made judgments around others experiencing homelessness.

对于黛博来说，这种经历使她懂得有些人对于其他无家可归的人做出判断有多快。

"It's easy to assume things about what leads people to being homeless.

很容易理解是什么导致人们无家可归。

"There are a lot of people who are homeless because of drug use and having no money.

很多人因吸毒和无钱而无家可归。

"But there are all sorts of circumstances that can put you in a vulnerable position where you're on your own.

但有各种各样的环境会使你处于弱势地位，因为你自己处于弱势。

"At that time of year during winter, all the women's refuges and men's refuges are full up so there's just nothing available."

每年冬天的这个时候，所有的妇女庇护所和男子庇护所都堆满了，因此没有任何供应。

A local woman started visiting Deb each day to check on her wellbeing.

一位当地妇女每天开始拜访黛布，以检查她的健康状况。

"She saw me getting out of the car and saw that I couldn't stand up. She called the ambulance and St Vincent de Paul," Deb said.

她看见我下车，看到我站不起来。她叫了救护车和圣文森特·德·保罗。黛布拉说。

"I hadn't wanted to go with the ambulance because I didn't want to leave my cat on her own.

我不愿跟着救护车去，因为我不想把猫留给她看管。

"I ended up in hospital with pulmonary embolisms to both lungs from being cramped up and sleeping in the cold.

最后我在医院里查出患有肺栓塞，因在睡觉中着凉导致肺部为痉挛。

"Tim from St Vincent de Paul had assured me not to worry and they took my cat out to the RSPCA and put her into the boarding kennels there."

来自圣文森特·德保罗的蒂姆向我保证不用担心，他们把我的猫带到了皇家警察协会，并把她放在那儿的寄宿宿舍里。

And while Deb said she never learnt the name of the woman who offered her help, she would be forever thankful.

黛博说她不知道帮助她的女人的名字，但她将永远感恩。

"I don't know who this kind person was but she saved my life.

我不知道这个人是谁，但她救了我的命。

"St Vincent de Paul were able to help me with transitional housing and then help me apply for government housing.

圣文森特·德保罗（St Vincent de Paul）能够帮我提供过渡性住房，然后帮我申请政府住房。

"I was just amazed. If it hadn't been for them, the Canberra Hospital and my general practitioner, I just wouldn't have survived."

我很吃惊，如果不是因为堪培拉医院和我的全科医生，那我就不会活下来了。

The Bureau of Statistics said 116,000 people were homeless on census night in 2016, representing 50 homeless people per 10,000.

统计局表示，在2016年普查之夜有116,000人无家可归，占每10,000人50名无家可归者。

St Vincent de Paul executive Barnie van Wyk said lack of affordable housing, domestic violence, financial difficulty and health challenges were the most common factors.

圣文森特-德保罗高管范怀克说，缺乏负担得起的住房、家庭暴力、财政困难和健康挑战是最常见的因素。

In Canberra there are more than 1,500 people without a permanent roof over their heads at any given time.

在堪培拉，有1,500多人在任何时候都没有永久屋顶。

"Right here in our nation's affluent capital, 531 of those people experiencing homelessness are aged between 12 and 24, and 183 are children aged under 12," Mr van Wyk said.

在外国富裕的首都里，有531人无家可归，其中531人年龄在12岁至24岁之间，183人年龄在12岁以下，范怀克说。

Each year in Canberra, business and community leaders are invited to spend the night sleeping rough as part of the CEO Sleepout fundraiser.

每年，在堪培拉，商界和社区领袖都会被邀请体验流浪者之夜，作为首席执行长出院筹资的一部分。

Mr van Wyk said the sleepout was designed to give leaders an idea of the experience of those less fortunate living in the city.

范怀克说，这次失眠是为了让领导者们了解那些生活在城市里不那么幸运的人的经验。

"It also raises funds critical to the continuation and expansion of Vinnies' work to support people in need with a hand up," he said.

他还筹集了资金，这对于维持和扩大文森的工作至关重要，以便帮助需要帮助的人们。

The CEO Sleepout will be held on June 21 at the National Museum of Australia.

CEO的搬迁将于6月21日在澳大利亚国家博物馆举行。

Contact Hannah Walmsley

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