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<div>My name is Cheri or known as Rijsixmj online, and I am a proud Yorta Yorta and Taungurung woman and mother two beautiful children, aged 13 and 15 that I've raised alone since I was 19. Our journey has been one of survival, resilience, and love but right now, we are facing one of the hardest chapter of our lives.
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<div>Our story begins years ago when I fled domestic violence as a teenager. At 14 I was groomed into a religious cult and married to a man aged 27 under their religious law, I didn't know any better at at that point my parents had long put me on the streets because I questioned their everything when a child "should shut up and obey their elders".
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<div>When my children were still babies, I found the courage to escape but that successful attempt required 20 attempts prior where each fail resulted in another bruise, another dunk of my head in water until I was choking, thinking I wouldn't be here anymore.
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<div>It was a battle, but I survived and we finally escaped when my daughter was 3 months old, all thanks to a lovely Sikh taxi driver who got us in his taxi and boxed off my ex husband from accessing us as we fled for the 21st time, which nearly failed as he had come home early from work and magically knew exactly where I was with that taxi.
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<div>The next stage of our lives resulted in my parents making me think they actually loved me, but like all abusers; that was a lie.
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<div>At first we lived with them and by court orders (family law) I was made to stay there and essentially prove I was a stable parent as I have complex mental health needs due to trauma and my brain just not being like everyone else's.
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<div>Eventually I moved into my own private rental with my children and my parents became aggressive about the move, especially my dad. At the time I did not understand it, but now I do.
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<div>As my rental began to end, my parents convinced me to accept a home that they'd buy "for me and the kids", they claimed I'd never have to pay rent and that this was my 'break from all the bullshit'; their reasoning and pressure was if we lived in the country my mental health would be better and they'd be able to help raise the kids.
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<div>It was all a lie of course, I was made to pay more and more rent under the lie that if I paid a % off the mortgage they'd transfer it into my name - classic. As I live with disabilities as do my two children, we do get some centrelink benefits (social services) but it is not much each fortnight and at the time, more than 80% of it went to the rent of this house.
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<div>In May 2024, my daughter made a suicide attempt and I didn't understand why. She always seemed happy, we would go to events together, watch anime... but then she made disclosure to the hosptial that my father had been abusing her for 10 years.
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<div>My world fell but it made sense, he was hurting her and in response she felt disgusting, hurt and more.
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<div>It took a while for services like Child Protection, Homelessness organisations (ANCHOR) and FVREE (family violence) to actually listen to me... They kept telling me to play happy families, pretend it never happened and don't let him near her alone.
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<div>In the end, sadly...it all got taken seriously when I tried to end my own life from the pure stress, anxiety and having a 6ft+ angry military man (my father) get aggressive when I would try stop him going into the house, to her room or us simply not attending events like Christmas.
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<div>After hospital, we went into crisis. We weren't allowed to return to the home and officially became homeless. FVREE and CPS told myself, eastern health and our NDIS team that we'd get a place before I was discharged. Lies... all lies to cover their backs that they had made us homeless with no support.
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<div>During this time Child Protect tried to push me to surrender my children, claiming to help me but the order they wanted to put was that I was declaring myself as an unfit parent and to return my children to my care would result in the courts decision and proving I was good enough to be their parent still.
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<div>I am an Indigenous woman where my family were ripped from their families under the same claim that "we're helping" or put on missions run by Anglo's. I did not want my history repeating and this was a horrible experience while going through mass trauma.
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<div>For 2 days we slept in the home of our NDIS support work before being in 1 crisis accommodation for less than 7 days, pushed onto another place for 1 week to another place that lasted 6 weeks.
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<div>We are thankful for these short term roofs but it isn't great.
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<div>We are now being sent across the state to a Women's refuge, I don't know how long this stay will be and honestly, I don't know if we will be in our car tomorrow.
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<div>Currently we have family violence orders for all three of us against both my father and my mother; my father hopefully has been discharged from the Australian Army where he was serving as a Sapper as the orders remove his weapons licenses which was honestly our biggest fear during this whole thing - what if he found us and had a gun?
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<div>The constant upheaval of crisis housing has not only disrupted my children’s schooling and medical care but it has also cost me my career. I was working as a librarian, but I had to resign because the instability and sudden relocations made it impossible to maintain stable employment.
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<div>Now, I survive on a government pension, which does not come close to covering the extra costs we face and despite what you may think, being homeless is expensive.
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<div>I am raising funds to help us cover the most urgent needs:
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<div>● Medications for myself and my children
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<div>● Fuel to travel to mental health and medical services as well as temporary schooling for my children
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<div>● Payment for our storage facility so we don’t lose our remaining belongings
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<div>● Car registration and license renewals so I can keep us mobile
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<div>● Food and basic living costs as crisis services and charities can only give you a gift card a month, and you're stuck in catchment areas for places you can ask help from
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<div>● If we secure permanent housing, funds will also help with moving costs, bond, rent, and essential household needs.
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<div>I want to be clear: I do not drink, smoke, or take drugs. Every dollar raised will go directly towards keeping my children safe, cared for, and moving forward toward stability.
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<div>We have survived so much already, but I cannot do this alone. If you can help us in any way either through a donation or by sharing our story, you will be helping us break the cycle of abuse and homelessness; as well as giving my children the safe future they deserve.
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<div>From my heart, thank you.
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<div>Cheri (Rijsixmj) &amp; Family.
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Anonymous

Kelly Wood

Katrina McDonnell

Reese Sanders

Lucinda O'Riley

Sarah-Judith Bernstein

Taryn Shannon

Ana Belen Martinez Navarro

From Crisis to Safety: We Need Your Help

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