Bridge Back to Life Foundation

Paper: The Northside Chronicle
Issue: Tuesday, April 19, 2011
By Meredith Clisby

TONY’S Place is now more than just a house, it’s a home.

The Belconnen-based refuge for homeless was officially opened and blessed last week.

It is a big step forward for Bridge Back to Life Foundation’s Rhonda Obad who has dedicated her life to helping the young men other people have given up on.

Ms Obad started the foundation after the tragic death of her son Tony from a heroin overdose in 1988.
Tony’s Place was initially a rental property, but through donations and support the foundation was recently able to purchase a permanent place to live.

The foundation provides a supportive experience for the men, who receive a place to live and go through a living skills program to gain the independence to move into their own home. Since it began about nine men have moved successfully through the system.

The home’s longest staying resident Shannon Fitzallen, said living at Tony’s Place had made a big difference to his life.

After being kicked out of home in Darwin, Mr Fitzallen found himself in Canberra where he became homeless and was “refuge hopping” for five months.

Then he became a resident at Tony’s Place.

“It’s a more stable lifestyle – I have a bed I can sleep in, food I can cook,” he said.

The stability has enabled him to resolve personal issues and have a more positive approach to life.

He is studying an advanced diploma of screen and media at CIT and is waiting to move into his own home when he makes it to the top of the ACT Housing list.

He said without Ms Obad’s help things would have been different.

“Rhonda’s my adopted mum, she’s pretty much like that to all of us, we’re pretty much like a family in this house,” he said.

“Everybody here loves Rhonda; and once I leave here I’ll still come back and help.”

Ms Obad said it was this strong family connection that enabled the men to move out on their own.

“It’s just so important when they move into their own place, they want to feel they belong, that they’re part of the community,” She said.

“You become very fond of them when you’ve had them for such a long time.”

The Foundation has big plans for the home with work already starting on the construction of two independent units in the backyard.

The units will be used to gain more independent living experience before the young men move into their own home.

While Ms Obad said they had already received incredible support from the community, people were being asked to dig deep to help a worthy cause.

She has also asked the ACT Environment Minister Simon Corbell for the donation of two solar hot water units but as yet not had a response.

The Bridge back to Life Foundation will be holding a black tie fundraising event on Saturday, June 18 to raise money for the building of the two units.

More details can be found at www.bridgebacktolife.com.au.

Ms Obad said the units would help the lives of homeless men in the region.

“We are all fully aware there’s not enough accommodation in Canberra, governments can only do so much,” she said.

15 April 2011

The Governor-General, as Chancellor of the Order of Australia, invested our Founder Rhonda Obad with the Medal in the General Division for her service to youth through the Bridge Back to Life Foundation.

Ms Bryce and Mr Michael Bryce later joined all recipients and their family members for a reception on the lawns of Government House.

Please see award photo http://www.gg.gov.au/

By:  Meredith Clisby

Published in The Chronicle 2 Feb 2011

From the article:

A northside resident has been recognised dedication to improving the lives of young homeless men in Canberra.

Rhonda Obad, the founder of the Bridge Back to Life Foundation and the refuge Tony’s Place, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division during last week’s Australia Day celebrations.

Mrs Obad said she thought someone had been playing a trick on her when she recieved official confirmation of the award, but, once realisation hit, was humbled by the recognition.

She said she would like to share the award with her daughter Katherine, who had run the organisation during a period of illness, and the volunteers.

Mrs Obad began the Bridge Back to Life Foundation after the tragic death of her son Tony to a heroin overdose in 1998.

This became the catalyst for the “mountain climbing” she would go on to do, as she gave herself a personal challenge to stay focused and achieve.

“The great loss that I felt, that I still feel for him, is one of the reasons why I continue to fight, I believe, to make a difference for others and especially those who have no voice, such as young homeless men,” she said.

Tony’s Place was established to give supportiveaccommodation to homeless men aged between 18 and 25, provide a living skills program, and encourage them to become independent and move to their own home.

Nine men have successfully moved through the program and are now living independently.

While Mrs Obad has seen positively with young men she has helped she said there was still a long way to go in the community’s perception of homelessness; “It’s a taboo story, it’s a taboo conversation – no-one really wants to address it,” she said.

“These young people, their lives and their mental health and wellbeing are greatly affectedby being homeless and not knowing where they’re going to get their next meal, or if they are going to be able to wake up the next morning.”

She said the perception of some Canberrans was that homelessness and homeless people did not have a place in society and this was evidenced by the not in my backyard attitude.

“It’s wonderful work you’re doing but I don’t want theses drug addicts, these hoons, crooks, theives, murders, living next door to me; can’t you take them elsewhere?”

On the  other hand when the call was put out to furnish the Scullin location of Tony’s Place the house was full within 24 hours.

Mrs Obad said she still fought against the perception that people chose to be homeless; “Let me tell you that that’s not true, a lot of these young men that I’ve given help to have been kicked out of home at 11, 12, 14 years of age.”

It’s not easy to go through the shelter system without getting affected somehow – you don’t know who you’re going to run into there, you don’t know if they’re going to put a knife through you that night.

“There’s so many factors that are not even taken into consideration by the general community.”

Tony’s place is always filled to capacity with Mrs Obad receiving three or four calls a week for a placement.

She said even the police call her occasionally, which she said demonstrated a clear need for such services in Canberra.

She believes the program works so well because she hands back responsibility to the men, who become amazed that they can run their own home.

Recently the residents of Tony’s Place received the news they had been waiting for with the successful purchase of their own home.

They moved in last Friday and Mrs Obad said “the boys” were ecstatic to call the place their own.

She said this was made possible by receiving $50,000 in the Bryce Courtney Power of One competition and the donation of Secret Millionaire Christian Beck who gave the foundation an equal amount.

Mrs Obad said the secret millionaire also did all the paperwork for the house purchase and lent his Terrigal holiday home to the boys for a week.

“We went there on the train, which was an absolutely beautiful ride, and the boys had their first ever best holiday ever, they really enjoyed it,” she said.

Mrs Obad said it was fantastic to have a permanent home for her young men and plans were already underway to construct a two bedroom unit as the property was zoned for dual occupancy.

This will enable the men to live independently in the flat first before moving out on their own.

“It’s the first time I bet for a long time that they can call a place really and truly home.” Mrs Obad said. “we all need to belong, we all need to be loved, they’re no different – all they need is love.

“Let’s face it when we exit this world that’s the only thing we take with us, the love in our hearts for all of the people we love.”

Mrs Obad said she would welcome any help the community could bestow on her organisation and young men and people were encouraged to visit www.bridgebacktolife.com.au.

And despite the happiness she feels at being recognised with an OAM, the challenge goes on.

“It’s all road ahead now, we’re going to keep climbing that mountain and we’re going to keep getting better and better as we go along,” she said.

By Carmen McIntosh

Published in the Canberra Chronicle 18/05/2010

From the article:

Tony’s Place, one of two homeless shelters in north Canberra, is not immune to the rental squeeze faced by most Canberans.

The shelter, currently operating out of a rented five bedroom home in scullin, is seeking the help of the Canberra community so they can buy their own property to house young homeless men.

Run by the not for profit Bridge back to Life Foundation, Tony’s Place provides supported accommodation to homelessmen aged between 18 and 25.

Residents are selected on a need basis, put through a basic living skills course and are then supported to find their own independent accommodation.

Bridge Back to Life Foundation manager Katherine Obad said the process took about three months.

“Sometimes they stay longer, but the ACT Government is already swamped, so a lot of our residents have finished their program and they remain on at the house until we find them a home.” she said.

“Many of them who have moved on independently are living normal lives and none have returned to homelessness.:

Ms Obad siad Tony’s Place could house five young men, a very small number compared to the need.

“We don’t have the room for any more in the house and I get phone calls all day, every day for me to take people, but we just don’t have the room unfortunately,” she said.

The foundation is seeking to get out of the rental game and purchase a property of their own, with the possibility of expansion down the track.

“That way we can’t get kicked out and we’re not paying someone else’s mortgage, it just gives us a bit of stability for them,” Ms Obad said.

Just last week the foundation was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Penguin publishers, an amount which Ms Obad said would make a big difference in their quest for home ownership.

While they continue to fundraise for the cause, they are seeking pledges from the community to present to the bank.

“We’re determined to get it one way or another and it would just be outstanding if organisations could consider committing to a donation,” she said.

“At the moment with the $50,000, we are sitting in a position where we will go to the bank and present them with our business plan and propose to grant us a mortgage.

“The people who live in the house at the moment, they make a financial contribution towards rent [so] that will cover the mortgage [but we need] commitments to present to the bank.

“We would appreciate if organisations would consider committing funds of any size and provide a letter of support to us that they will continue to do that for a number of years. Otherwise, what it will mean is if we don’t get any, we will have to continue to do the fundraising and that’s a really long process.”

Bridge Back to Life’s next fundraising event will be a trivia night on Saturday at the Magpies Club in Civic from 7pm.

Entry is $12 per person. The night will also feature a silent auction of items including wines and a framed Brumbies signed jersey.

For more information, or to book a table, contact Karen Bennett 0422 366 066.