I grew up with what I’d always believed to be next to nothing. No house, no car, no TV, PC, dishwasher or microwave. We moved every year or so, mum looking for work, from Cairns to Condobolin and beyond.
The lowest point in my young mind, however, was living in a caravan just outside Armidale, regional NSW. A caravan without a car. It's always stayed with me. Defined me, even. Feeling a perverse sense of pride in what I’d ‘overcome’.
I met some boys from Armidale last week that changed all that. They shared some of the most gut-wrenching stories imaginable. Stories that put my own ‘struggles’ into context. Made me ashamed to think that an absence of electrical goods was the worst it could get.
But they also shared stories that inspired me: about Back Track and the amazing work they're doing to support disadvantaged kids.
They've just been featured in an incredible doco. Turns out Back Track is next door to my old caravan park. Go see it (the film, not the caravan). You'll cry and despair, but also find hope: in towns where BT is operating, juvenile crime rates have halved. What they’re doing is working. They just need money to do it at scale.
To that end, I'm raising money for Back Track. Please donate generously. You could change someone's life.