Home, a safe haven or a house of horrors?

When Tom was seven years old, his childhood ended.

And it ended in a spectacular way when his father

beat him black and blue with a belt while his

mother was passed out drunk on the sofa.

From the beating Tom learned that if he was going to

survive, he would have to look after himself and stay

out of the way of his violent and erratically behaved father.

Sometimes, when his father was not at home, he would try to talk 

to his mother, plead with her for them to run away, but

she always defended his father and told Tom that

things would get better.

But they didn't, and as the years passed, Tom realised

that his mother's solution to the problem was to pretend,

ignore, and to drink it away.

Tom's solution became that of staying away from home as

much as he could. He would find himself somewhere quiet,

and then lose himself..... reading.

On the morning of Tom's 14th birthday, his father slammed open the door

 to Tom's bedroom, grabbed Tom by the neck, dragged him

through the house while screaming profanities at the top of his lungs

and then pushed Tom to the ground in front of their house.

As Tom tried to get up, his father kicked Tom in the chest and yelled:

''Get up, you worthless piece of shit! You're old enough to pay your own bills

now, you're out, leave, and don't come back, you lazy, good for nothing,

shit for brains!''

Tom scrambled to get up, and then ran. 

Barefooted and barely dressed, Tom ran for his life.

Only when his feet started to bleed, did he stop.

He sat down under a tree, hugged his knees, and for the first

time in seven years he allowed the tears to come.

On her way back home from working at the homeless shelter, 

Salvation Army soldier Sue Wittington spotted Tom

sitting under the tree. She stopped the car, got out, and slowly walked

toward Tom.

A few feet from Tom, Sue spoke: ''Hey, are you okay?''

A sliver of sunlight fell on Tom's face as he looked up,

but he said nothing.

Sue sat down next to Tom and then said: ''When you feel like you can

talk, why don't you tell me what has happened.''

Tom nodded.

A few minutes later Tom told Sue what had happened and that he

no longer had a home to go home to.

''Well, you are in luck, it so happens that I work at the Salvo's homeless

shelter down the road, do you know of it? Sue asked Tom.

''Yes, I know of it," Tom answered.

''I am sure that we can help you out, but why don't we begin

with you telling me your name, my name by the way is Sue.''

''Tom, my name is Tom.''

********************************

Family, for many of us is supposed be

our safe haven. Unfortunately, too often

we may find that it can be a place where we

experience our deepest heartaches.

72.000 women, 34.000 children, 9.000 men,

sought homelessness services in 2016-17 due to

family/domestic abuse in Australia.

Domestic abuse occurs across all ages, all socioeconomic

and demographic groups, but predominantly affects 

women and children.