The death of a young man in Sydney has cast light on a hidden side of homelessness. Bikram Lama died while sleeping rough in Sydney's central business district. According to the report, he lay there for days as life moved all around him. Yet he remained, in effect, completely invisible to those passing by.
His story is described as that of a person who arrived with hope. He came to Australia with ambitions for study, for opportunity and for a future. That hope stood in sharp contrast to how his life ended. His death has become a way of remembering him and others like him.
The case points to a wider and often unseen problem. It reveals a hidden dimension of the homelessness crisis. This involves migrants whose lives in Australia have collapsed. Many of them are too full of shame to seek help from family back home.
One man shared his own experience of that shame. Originally from Bangladesh, he said he has been homeless for the last couple of months. He has not told his family about his situation. He fears that the news would be too much for them to accept.
His path to homelessness began with high hopes and heavy costs. He came to Australia as an international student. He said he spent almost 75 to 80 thousand on his studies. Despite applying for many jobs in his field, he did not get an opportunity.
When he sought help, he ran into a barrier in the system. He tried many times to get crisis accommodation. He was told that he would first need to be on Centrelink. For a non-resident, however, that support is not available.
Support services try to fill some of that gap. At one refuge, known as the Talbot, there are 56 beds for single men. Most of the men staying there are on Centrelink and pay their fees through it. For those who are not eligible, the refuge instead provides emergency accommodation.