Andrew’s life changed in an instant

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Andrew was born in 1965 and was the son of a soldier. When his father returned from Vietnam, he just wasn’t the same – and it ended up tearing his family apart.

When Andrew was five years old, his father left and his family moved to the western suburbs of Sydney. There, he went to school, played professional soccer, and worked as a groundskeeper. He also fell in love and started a family.

I had the world at my feet. No problems at all,Andrew

Life seemed to be going well – until his wife and young son were killed in a car accident.

Struggling to cope with the tragedy, he spiralled into drugs and alcohol and became homeless. He came from a very private family and felt he had no one to talk to about the way he was feeling.

At times he was in housing, but was unable to maintain his tenancies due to an inability to get control of his drug dependency. At one point he was sleeping in his car and even had thoughts of suicide.

Life finally turned around for Andrew when he was connected with the team at Ebbs House. Ebbs House is a service in Brookvale, NSW that offers transitional accommodation for adult men and women who have been experiencing homelessness. Andrew ended up living at Ebbs House for 10-12 weeks where he received the support he needed.

This is a place where you can sit down, get your thoughts together and ask for help, Andrew

Andrew felt all of the staff at Ebbs House fought for him – getting him connected with the right support services to help him get back on track. Now in his early fifties and back on his feet – Andrew has the people at Ebbs House to thank – primarily caseworker Ainslie Macmillan and program manager Kevin Kingsbeer. He has since transitioned out of Ebbs House and into his own accommodation.

“I’m on cloud nine,” Andrew said. “It’s amazing to go somewhere where you want to go home.”

Andrew feels he has received so much support and wants to give back to the community as much as he can. After his two pet birds he had been gifted by a friend had babies, he kindly gifted one to an elderly neighbour.

We are so proud of Andrew for continuing to seek a better life for himself. Despite all he has been through, he looks out for others and has a positive outlook for the future.