Selina Steve and son Jesse have been inundated with offers of help. Picture: MATTHEW SMITHWICK
A HOMELESS woman who was camping with her 13-month-old baby beside the river said she has been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.
Since The Border Mail’s report on Saturday of Selina Steve’s four-month ordeal living at a Barnawartha campsite, the 44-year-old has received more than 10 offers of help and housing.
The Border Mail received numerous calls from people offering accommodation and help to Ms Steve and son Jesse, while three people tracked her down on Facebook.
“Wow, it’s a lot of people,” she said yesterday from a motel provided by the Department of Human Services.
“It’s so nice there are so many good people out there.”
Ms Steve said after The Border Mail contacted the department, the department offered her immediate accommodation at a Wodonga motel.
It also offered her a two-bedroom unit in Wodonga, which she will inspect today.
A department spokesman told The Border Mail last week it had no record of Ms Steve.
It took her 13 hours to pack up the tents at her campsite but Ms Steve said she was glad to have left the camp given the river rose at the weekend and blocked the road to the site.
She now plans to create an online blog sharing her story of living homeless.
“Being homeless has given me a new perspective, I’m thinking of a few things that could maybe help other people,” she said.
She hopes the blog might be able to connect the homeless with people in the community willing to help.
Through this experience, Ms Steve said she has realised that homelessness is prevalent in the Border community.
“It’s across the board, not just young people and middle-aged men,” she said.
Ms Steve wanted to extend her thanks to those who offered her and Jesse their support.
“Thank you, I’m very humbled, especially to the people who have offered their homes,” she said.
“It’s unbelievable.”