Every night, I walk the city’s streets. For someone like me, it’s safer to keep moving

October 13, 2026 — 6:00pm

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I spend many nights walking the streets of Melbourne. You wouldn’t know it though as I’m not yelling abuse or sleeping off substances outside shops.

I follow wide empty paths that a few hours ago were full of people eating, talking, taking photos. Around 3am I get tired, stop and lean against a pole, marvelling at the sky or pondering the river. I go on and on until it’s time to start the day with a well-placed coffee.

The city has been my home, for want of a better word, since early 2025 when my landlord put their 1970s unit on the market. I’d been surfing the wave of unsustainable housing for years. It had to break at some point, and I’ve been in the wash-up since.

My homelessness isn’t for lack of trying. I’ve been on the Victorian Housing Register since 1994. I’ve been labelled Priority One or homeless/at risk of homelessness since 2016. My choice was to stay in a private rental I couldn’t afford or live on the street for years to get to the top of the list for social and public housing. To be offered a place, I have to become one of the most vulnerable.

I liken the housing situation to the Mario Brothers game. I jump, run, hit some points, land in a pipe and fall into a chasm of more blocks and holes to jump over in the dark.I recently struck a jackpot –........

© Brisbane Times