i need help.

my name is lia, and this is my story.

i was born in england, and i was raised in abuse. some of my earliest memories were of being hit by parents. they took my bedroom door, my bed frame, i wasn’t allowed any friends that were not of the same religion as me. a small branch of christianity that has many aspects that are cult-like. i felt so alone for all of my childhood, missing out on Christmas, birthdays, halloween and sleepovers.

when i was 15, i left the church, which caused the start of what can only be described as the worst years of my life. the abuse got worse, emotional and psychological manipulation, i felt like the only way out was suicide.

when i was 16 i was raped at a party. i told my parents and they did not believe me. the night after, i attempted to take my own life. i was hospitalised for 2 weeks, my parents did not bother to spend nights with me in hospital while i was fighting for my life.

two weeks later i was on a flight to australia. my parents didn’t let me say goodbye to my friends who i had known for years. i had no choice in this.

i moved in with my grandparents in november of 2023, and for a few months everything was fine. untill it wasn’t. she is extremely controlling, manipulative, passive agressive and physically violent.

i am scared of her. she has hit me across the face multiple times, so has my grandfather. i moved out of their care in december 2024, and i have been staying at my friends house since. the police have been called multiple times because of her hostile behaviour.

since then, she has stolen all of my documents (UK and AUS passports, birth certificate, citizenship certificate) and has sent them to england to my parents who are refusing them to me. they told me that i “don’t have any right to them” they “don’t belong” to me. which is so incorrect, and i have confirmed with the police and i have reported these documents as stolen. i have requested center link to help me in my situation, to which my social worker decided to ring my grandparents to confirm weather they are abusive or not. to which obviously they put on an act of loving and worried grandparents, and even claimed i “have been mentally unstable and ill since the age of 10.” which is completely untrue. i am receiving no money from center link.

because of a lack of ID, i am unable to get a tax file number, so i can’t work or get any center link payments. and i can’t apply for a passport without a birth certificate. i have no money to order a birth certificate, it feels like i’m going round in circles.

my friends mum out of her own pocket has kindly been housing me, even though i can’t pay her anything, and she has payed for a certificate of citizenship which has really helped me progress forwards. and i don’t know what i would be doing without her.

in a few days, i will be in a homeless shelter in sydney. with a program that helps young people live independently.

i am asking out of the kindness of everyone’s hearts to donate whatever they can so i can order myself ID, so i can start to work. i would love to be able to move back to england, to start my life over again. a flight from sydney to london is $1029, and i would really appreciate any help so that i can have support to start my new life. and it’s sad that me as a 17 year old has to be stressing about money, about bills, about how i can afford to live. but unfortunately it is reality.

anything would be so very much appreciated. thank you for listening.

Lia