After a difficult 2025, Michael Black says it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in his boarding house – and 2026 should be merry and bright.
This has been a year of drastic change for me. I resigned from my job, ended a relationship I’d been in for 10 years, went to rehab in Sydney for alcohol abuse, and was placed into an inpatient unit for almost three months. I’ve been homeless before. At the age of 40, I was hoping I’d seen the end of street life, boarding houses and couch surfing. But life can find a way to put up roadblocks – obstacles that not only prevent progress, but also provide a reversal of all that you’ve tried to build.
I am living in a boarding house, typically designed for a small family. It instead currently houses 11 people, most referred through social services, hospitals or prisons. Most of my possessions are in storage. Drug use is prevalent – though nothing hard, and if it is, then it’s hidden. Fights occur as egos clash; people bump heads. Dishes in the sink can pile up for weeks, and showers are no longer daily. The people who own the property come banging on your door if you’re an hour late with the rent, which they pick up whenever it suits them – always in cash, always lacking a receipt, always vulnerable.
It has not been an easy adjustment for me to live with strangers again. I sit with someone while they paint their bedroom walls and talk in ways I do not understand. Or I sit in the communal area as a cigarette haze covers the ceiling – but people are laughing and sharing stories. Although those in the house know I do not drink or smoke, they will still offer it to me, out of what I can see is kindness. They’re never offended when I say no. For all the stereotypes of a boarding house, there is a peacefulness here, with most of us going to our rooms before midnight.
One of the housemates knocked on my door asking if I would like to be included in Secret Santa: we all put our names in a hat, and buy a $5 to $10 gift. While that might not sound like much, just the surprise of opening an unknown gift is exciting. I’ve already bought and wrapped an emotional support cactus toy for my Secret Santa: I wanted to give a gift to keep, so I stayed clear of chocolates, even if we all enjoy those as well. We exchange gifts because – despite the fights, the dirty dishes, the bin left forgotten on the side street – we know to come together and appreciate what we have, not what we don’t.
One housemate has invited me to visit their family in their home town in December, around my birthday. I almost cried with joy. Despite the hardship of everything in my life at the start of the year, the end of the year shows a 2026 I am very much looking forward to. Joy is important: gratefulness for what we have. Loss creates new opportunities and hope for the future – like the Secret Santa, like the visit to a new friend’s family, and like looking forward to what 2026 can offer.
I felt a great loss when my previous partner and I broke up, and friends tell me that they are sorry to hear about it. Honestly, earnestly, we just weren’t happy together. The fact is that we didn’t match anymore, and that is okay. I hope they have a good Christmas and holiday season, same as me.
The thing about boarding houses is that there are often forgotten items from previous boarders lying around. This year we found a three-foot-tall Christmas tree, we are putting up lights in the living room and communal area, and while I won’t be here for Christmas Day itself, I know there is a BBQ planned. Some of the residents here have children, who will most likely come by for a few hours. Our Secret Santa gifts will end up under the tree. It is already feeling a little bit like the Christmas that I remember from when I was a child.
My takeaway for 2025 is that it was a year of change, growth and finding what is important in my life. The hope and joy in all of it, for someone that has not really had a stable home before, has given me the greatest feeling of home that I’ve ever felt.
By Michael Black
Michael is a speaker for The Big Issue Classroom in Melbourne, where he has been sharing his experiences with school students for eight years.
Words by Michael Black
Illustration by Grace Lee
Published in ed#751
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