Perth Voice Interactive

HE was sacked from his job—then the rest of Steve Harvey’s life started crumbling.

Being jobless and relatively alone in Perth had a cascading effect on the 29-year-old man’s ability to pay his rent and stay mentally well.

Nine weeks after losing his well-paid fly-in, fly-out gig with a high-profile mining company he was homeless.

“It happened that easily and quickly,” Mr Harvey says.

“I just couldn’t get a job and I had applied for at least a hundred jobs. It’s very disheartening, hey?”

He was on the streets but was determined to keep moving forward.

Packing just two sets of clothes and bare essentials—all 40kg of it—he started walking the 4700km from Perth to Sydney — to raise money to buy swags for homeless people.

Mr Harvey returned to Perth late last month, $22,000 heavier, and is hosting a fundraising event this Sunday at North Perth’s Rosemount Hotel in the hope of collecting another $3000 for the kitty.

He told the Voice about life on the streets.

“I’ve met a few homeless people on the trip,” he says. “Most in the country areas are hard to talk to because they have some sort of mental issue. I reached Melbourne and had a chat with a couple of blokes. I reckon after six months, that’s when it begins to get really hard to get out of a rut. It’s almost like you start giving up.”

The Mandurah man is now renting a granny flat and is still searching for a job.

He advises not to give homeless people money because, “if they won’t take your food, and ask for money, they’re just after drugs”.

The Rosemount Hotel event on November 22 has two stages.

The family-friendly event — with face painting and a V8 Supercars display—runs 1-5pm and requires a gold coin donation.

The night event, from 6–10pm, is $10 and features live music.

Money goes to Swags for Homeless, a not-for-profit organisation that provides emergency relief for people turned away from increasingly-packed shelters.

Visit the Support Coast to Coast Facebook page for more details.

by EMMIE DOWLING