In celebration of National Youth Week, SBS teamed up with the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) and Department of Social Services (DSS) to give young people the chance to share their story on national television. 15- to 24-year olds across the country were invited to submit a video entry about their unique identity. After several rounds of judging, five winners were chosen to attend a week-long filmmaking and storytelling workshop in Melbourne with FYA. At the end of the workshop, each winner produced a short film about their story. Watch it below.

Grace, one of the competition winners, is 17 years old and from Tasmania. Some of the things that strike me about Grace when we first meet are that she is thoughtful, present and chooses her words carefully as she’s speaking. One of the things that really doesn’t strike me about Grace when we first meet is that she has experienced homelessness.

That’s a big part of it, according to Grace. “It’s not what everyone thinks it will be. It doesn’t happen to who you think it would be happening to,” she explains.

This is the reason Grace wants to share her story. The 2011 census data showed that about 26,000 Australians between the ages of 12 and 24 are homeless. Grace was one of them.

“I got into a difficult time. I was homeless and I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere.”

“I had turned 16 just a couple of months before,” she recalls. “It was at this time where I wasn’t very mature and suddenly I was in this situation where I had to be really mature and grow up really quickly.”

Grace considers herself lucky. Comparatively speaking, she says her experience with homelessness was one of the easier ones. “I had a really good community around me so I only had to couch surf, which a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do,” she explains. After leaving home Grace spent three months couch surfing before she was able to move into her own apartment.

Even though it was tough, Grace believes one of the most helpful things for her during this time was continuing school. She was able to access support through a school social worker, and it was a place she could go every day.

“School was the one consistent thing throughout everything else changing. I actually left home the day before college started — the first day of year 11… It took a toll on my schoolwork but at the same time, looking back, I would say I’m glad I didn’t stop. You have to work through it.”

With the benefit of hindsight, Grace can see this as a positive in her experience. However, she acknowledges, the time she was homeless was largely characterised by a strong feeling of anxiousness and not knowing what her next steps would be. She recalls, “I didn’t know what would happen to me. I felt like I couldn’t achieve anything. And as soon as you get in that situation, you’re like ‘what will people expect of me now?’”

“Suddenly you lose this whole opportunity to achieve the things you want, get the career you want. You feel lesser, in a way.”

For Grace, she felt like film was a good way to share her story, which is why she wanted to be part of the Youth Week project. “Films are a lot about emotion and connecting to other people. I think it’s about showing it instead of telling it — it’s more powerful. It’s a good way to get those emotions across.”

Through talking to Grace and watching her tell her story through her film, it becomes clear that while Grace’s story is unique to her, there’s a universality to it. It’s about belonging.

“It’s important to feel like you belong somewhere, even if you belong with just one friend; that you have something you can call yours when you’re homeless. There’s not a lot you can call yours. Friendship is really important.”

This is an aspect Grace wants to share. “I guess I want people to take away that if it does happen to you or someone you know you’ve really got to support them.”

“There’s always somewhere you belong, even though you may not feel like it at the time. And you’re certainly not alone. You can still be a part of things even though your life is changing.”

Beyond the physical displacement of becoming homeless, Grace acknowledges this really impacted her identity. She realised how much the things around her shaped who she was and who she has become.

“I had to leave all my stuff there. I know a lot of that was thrown out and that was really difficult because there was a period of time where I didn’t have many clothes. For me, even that was hard.”

“How I look is who I am and I like looking good. I like having my own clothes... You don’t want to use someone else’s hair brush.”

It’s clear from our discussion that Grace thinks about the idea of belonging and her own sense of identity a lot.

When asked if participating in the workshop and telling her story through film has shaped the way she sees herself, Grace is reflective. “I think I’m happier,” she says before going silent for some time. “I’m more willing to express it as not such a negative time.”

Words: Anna Hill
Mentor Director: Elle Marsh
Mentor Director of Photography: Dan Hartley Allen
Photography: Francesca Rizzoli and Oliver Ditcham
Set Liaison: Lucy Aulich