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Chapter7
Once in the refuge I was signed in and given the rules. Curfew was 10 pm and the front doors would be locked after that. If I missed curfew three times I would be asked to leave. There is no smoking in the building but there is a place in the back you can have a smoke if you want. No drinking on the premises at all and if you are seen to be intoxicated you will be asked to leave for the night. If it occurs three times again you will be asked to leave permanently. I also had to help do different chores throughout the week. I was assigned to help in the kitchen 3 times a week which suited me as I worked in the kitchen while in juvie. No fighting is allowed and we are asked to spend the night in our rooms. This was a co-ed refuge for youth 13-18 years old.
The Addison as it was called was temporary accommodation for teens who couldn't be at home for whatever reason. We are charged a small board fee which is taken from the Centrelink money to cover costs of board and food while we are here. Also, no one other than those registered is to be on the premises after curfew. We are responsible for keeping our rooms clean and these can be subjected to spot checks. If any drugs are found on site we are reported to police. Some social workers stay on site to help us apply for housing, jobs, Centrelink, schools, TAFE, uni and just to talk if we need to. We also have access to a phone to speak with legal aid if we require legal assistance.
The social worker Paris who was assigned to help me settle in and tell me the rules told me she had been here for 5 years. She was a happy woman who was on the plump side. She has lots of piercings in her ears and face and bright purple hair. She had a full sleeve of tattoos on her left arm and a couple of tattoos could be seen on her legs. She was wearing a Rock band's black shirt with jeans and black Doc Marten boots which had purple laces. She was probably a little shorter than me. I explained to her that my lawyer would be picking me up at 8.30 in the morning as I had a court hearing to attend. Paris asked if I had a mobile so I could save the number for the social worker on call in my phone in case I needed someone to talk to. When I told her no she informed me that they would get one to me by curfew tonight. Youth off the street was able to provide phones to youth who were at risk so they could contact social workers at any time. The phone would be loaded with data and come with a month's access after that I would need to top up the account myself to keep it active. I thanked Paris and just wanted to head to my room.
I was given the key to my room, number 316 which is on the third floor to the left of the building. There are 20 rooms on each floor, each room containing a bed and small desk a TV on top of a chest of drawers and a bathroom. In the bathroom, there were two towels, a hand towel and a face washer sitting next to the sink. I also had a small balcony which had two chairs and a little table on it. My room was overlooking the backyard and I could see the smoking area if my curtains were open. I could see a few people standing there smoking. There was a small bar fridge next to the door of the bathroom and a kettle on top with tea and coffee and cups placed next to it.
Paris accompanied me to the door of the room and explained that we could eat in our room just not cook. There was linen on the bed which would be collected once a week from outside the room washed and returned to the room each week. Level three linen was done on Wednesday. She also showed me the common areas of the place and the kitchen and dining area. She told me breakfast was from 6.30 till 8 daily. Sandwiches were available for lunch which we pre-packed in the large fridge along with fruit. They were brought in each morning and if I wanted one to grab it at breakfast and keep it in my room as sometimes they ran out. Dinner was served between 6 and 8 pm and then the kitchen was closed at 9 pm. Coffee and tea facilities in the dining area were available until 10 pm. Common areas were closed at 10 pm and people were asked to be in their rooms after that.
Paris also showed me the laundry room where I could wash and dry my clothes. They operated on coins. $2 per wash and $2 per dry. There were signs up asking people to stay with their stuff. The Addison was an old motel that was handed over to youth off the street to get teenagers off the street. It was nothing special but I was safe here as well as safe as possible with a bunch of vulnerable teenagers. Some were here fleeing a bad home life, some were here cause they had nowhere else to go and some were here because they were on parole trying to avoid juvie according to Paris. Me, I was here to avoid my so-called loving family.
Once Paris left, I unpacked the clothes that Jenny had given me. There were a few outfits in the bag. A pair of jeans and a pair of leggings, 2 shirts 2 dresses similar to what I was wearing to court a pack of 5 simple cotton underwear, three new bras, a pack of 5 socks, 2 pairs of summer pjs, a jacket and two pairs of shorts. There was also some shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, a pack of razors, shaving cream, body wash and face cleanser, hair brush and comb, sunscreen, body spray and deodorant a packet of pads and a packet of tampons.
Once I had put all the stuff away, I opened the bag that Greg had given me. It was full of junk food, different kinds of chocolate bars, skittles, gummy worms and chips. All the different food that I had told him I missed while being in juvie Greg brought me. I couldn't help the tears that came forward with what he had done. Jenny and Greg had saved me in juvie and I would never forget that. While my own family wanted to destroy me while I was locked up, these two strangers heard me and better yet believed me and fought with me to prove my innocence. They were there to pick me up when I fell and believe me I fell a lot. They saw the bruises I got in juvie and tried to help stop it. They were my new family. They were going to keep fighting with me for the freedom I so desperately wanted. I may have been released from juvie but the nightmares from that place followed me everywhere. I would never be truly free until I got justice, and until I was free from my so-called family.
Six o'clock came quickly and I headed down to the dining area to grab some food. I decided to keep a low profile and take my food to my room. I didn't need any trouble, I had to show the court I was a functioning member of society who was capable of being a productive member without a guardian. I knew my family didn't know where I was at this stage but I wasn't going to risk anything. I was not to show fear though and walked into the dining room, grabbed my plate and walked over to the counter where people were serving food. I was used to eating crap in juvie so I didn't care what was being served.
When I got to the front I saw it was pasta with what looked like bolognese sauce, garlic bread and a garden salad. There were also individual ice cream cups for dessert. Not bad, better than the shit served in juvie. The people served my food and then I grabbed some cutlery and headed back up to my room. I sat on the balcony and ate my food preparing myself for the fight tomorrow. I spent a few hours on the balcony watching the sky get dark smiling. I hadn't seen the sky turn black in years.