Blake chooses to leave his old life behind

December 10, 2025

For as long as Blake can remember, he has yearned for community and connection. Growing up in social housing with a mum who tried her best but faced many challenges, Blake longed for a place to belong. His search took him from drug dens to prison cells and ultimately, into a life of homelessness. Today, as Blake reflects on the turmoil that had consumed him, he describes the three available paths as … “to take my life, to rot in jail, or to turn my life around. And with the support of CatholicCare, I chose the third.”

Rebecca works in CatholicCare’s homelessness services. She has known Blake for six years. “Even through the tough times, Blake has always been respectful and grateful for those at CatholicCare. Blake is very resilient and keeps picking himself back up when things aren’t going well for him,”
she says.

The day that Blake met Rebecca will be forever etched in his memory. “I’d just got out of jail and I was stoked. I got this address to go to. It was for a house to live in.

“Rebecca told me she was from CatholicCare and was there to help me – she’s the reason I’m still alive.”

During the last six years, Blake has been heavily supported by our homelessness team. He has made great progress during this time, but the road hasn’t always been smooth. “We supported Blake to find housing after he was released from custody, but unfortunately the housing block was bad for his recovery. He was surrounded by drug use and criminal activity. Blake would sustain periods of recovery for 12+ months, which shows his resilience and strength, but the environment would trigger his relapses,” Rebecca says.

We supported Blake to leave this property and he is currently in transitional housing with CatholicCare until something more appropriate is found. “He is doing so well so we want to support him on that journey,” Rebecca says. “At that first house he was close to suicide, he’d had multiple overdoses, and he couldn’t move forward, so it was clear he needed something different.”

Today, Blake is sober and in recovery. He has been linked in with CatholicCare’s financial counselling and therapy teams and is proud of how far he has come. Blake enjoys going to the gym and he is passionate about sharing his story on social media with the hope that he might positively influence others.

Rebecca says that one of Blake’s greatest strengths is his ability to motivate others on their recovery journey. “It is inspiring that he has led such a colourful life yet has managed to get to where he is today. Blake has had a particular impact on one of the young guys in our transitional housing and has motivated him to do something about his substance use. They go to the gym together which is really positive for both of them.”

Blake is proud that he chose to turn his life around. “So many of my mates have passed away due to the way of life that I used to live. I am one of the only mates still standing, and now I want to help others make the choice to keep living.”