Melbourne Upside Down

Melbourne Upside Down Looking at the city of Melbourne from the bottom up and sharing stories from the street.

Street artists rely on donations to keep doing what they do. This artist has been bringing the sidewalks of Melbourne to...
04/07/2022

Street artists rely on donations to keep doing what they do. This artist has been bringing the sidewalks of Melbourne to life for over 15 years.

Al spends a lot of his time outside the NGV on St Kilda road. At the moment he's trying to get some money together so he...
14/06/2022

Al spends a lot of his time outside the NGV on St Kilda road. At the moment he's trying to get some money together so he can get out of the cold of winter. It will cost him around $220 to spend one week in a rooming house.

There are a growing number of fake beggars who are coming into the city on the weekends to make some money. You can usua...
10/05/2022

There are a growing number of fake beggars who are coming into the city on the weekends to make some money. You can usually tell if someone is genuine by looking at what they have around them. People who are homeless have to carry around their bedding wherever they go so it doesn't get stolen during the day. If you're still in doubt, you can always stop and have a quick conversation before handing your money over.

M is living in a nearby share house while he recovers from a recent health setback. A few weeks ago, he was at a local p...
17/01/2022

M is living in a nearby share house while he recovers from a recent health setback. A few weeks ago, he was at a local park when he had a seizure. He woke up in an ambulance and realised that his backpack had been stolen, including his wallet and Nintendo Switch. The person who stole the bag then used his bank card to buy hundreds of dollars of ci******es and alcohol. M was able to have the card cancelled and some of the costs removed, with the help of his caseworker. He’s also put down a deposit on a used Nintendo Switch.

We last saw Darren in early September, while Melbourne was still locked down. He's been staying at accomodation in the c...
17/11/2021

We last saw Darren in early September, while Melbourne was still locked down. He's been staying at accomodation in the city since then but he had to spend the last three nights sleeping rough due to an admin error. He's got a different place to move into tonight, and then he's planning to get a haircut.

James can't really remember how long he's been sleeping rough. He's been finding life pretty tough lately because a lot ...
03/10/2021

James can't really remember how long he's been sleeping rough. He's been finding life pretty tough lately because a lot of the services that used to be available for someone in his situation have been closed during lockdown. He spent most of yesterday begging for some money so that he could pay for one night of accomodation and have a good night sleep and a shower.

Greg has been homeless for about 20 years. He's not a massive fan of the Melbourne lockdown restrictions but he decided ...
19/09/2021

Greg has been homeless for about 20 years. He's not a massive fan of the Melbourne lockdown restrictions but he decided to get vaccinated to protect himself and those around him. On this day, Greg was reading a book about the Kokoda Trail. His family has a deep connection with this story.

Darren has mostly been staying in hotels through this year's lockdowns but he hopes that he will be able to find some st...
06/09/2021

Darren has mostly been staying in hotels through this year's lockdowns but he hopes that he will be able to find some stable accomodation when the lockdown's eventually end. It's been quite dangerous out on the street because of all the ice addicts who attack him. There have also been times that council workers have taken his stuff when he has left to go to the toilet.

Glen has been sleeping rough in Melbourne for the last 5 years. He spends most of his days begging near Southern Cross S...
23/08/2021

Glen has been sleeping rough in Melbourne for the last 5 years. He spends most of his days begging near Southern Cross Station and he's recently found a safe place to sleep at a nearby undercover carpark. Glen says that it's not what you see, but what you hear that really affects him. In the middle of the night, the escalators at the station can sound like people whispering and a roaming seagull looking for a midnight snack can sound like someone rummaging through your belongings. The fear of being robbed or attacked while you sleep causes stress and paranoia which can lead to other mental health issues.

This photo was sent to us by Shane, who we met on Collins Street earlier this month. He was offered a place to live and ...
18/08/2021

This photo was sent to us by Shane, who we met on Collins Street earlier this month. He was offered a place to live and work in regional Victoria by a passerby last week. So far things are going well and he's enjoying having a safe place to call home. Shane's been homeless since 2009 when he was the passenger in a car accident. He has short term memory loss from an Acquired Brain Injury which has made it hard for him to navigate the Victorian welfare system and secure permanent accomodation.

Tam has been sleeping rough in Melbourne for the last couple of years. He used to stay in the city overnight but people ...
11/08/2021

Tam has been sleeping rough in Melbourne for the last couple of years. He used to stay in the city overnight but people kept robbing him while he slept so he now tries to find safe places in the suburbs. Tam isn't sure why so many people are stealing these days but he thinks that there must be a reason. Everyone has a story and maybe things have happened to them in the past that are still impacting them today.

Shane has been sleeping rough in the city since January this year but has been living on the street for many years. He w...
05/08/2021

Shane has been sleeping rough in the city since January this year but has been living on the street for many years. He wasn't eligible for some of the accomodation that has been available recently, but he's hoping that he will be able to get a room in a boarding house soon. There's been some cold nights this winter but Shane said that he's choosing to stay positive and holding onto the hope that things will change soon. He often begs for money on Collins Street but there isn't as much cash around these days due to all the cashless transactions that are driving our post-COVID economy (some shops won't even accept cash as a payment anymore).

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