I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula: enjoying the beach, bodyboarding, snorkelling. Primary school I hated. I got bullied a lot and was a bit of a loner. But I loved going to high school in Mount Eliza, away from the bullies.
I never got along with my dad. He did a few things that weren’t too great. He was a bit of an absent father. As far as I’m concerned, it was really my mum that raised me.
My dad was an amputee, and my mum got bowel cancer, so after high school I was a full-time carer for both of them, as well as going to TAFE and having a job. They passed away within four months of each other. I’d been living in my parents’ house and thought, Well, maybe it’s time to leave here. I got a job closer to the city as a barista at Marvel Stadium and worked there for 12 years, but I had to leave in 2021 because I had a severe allergic reaction to some medication.
I was just at home, and suddenly couldn’t move my legs: I got this massive rash, like a sunburn, and could barely see. I’ve still got a bit of a limp from it now. It was pretty bleak, being in hospital and then rehab for six months – I even had my birthday in hospital and couldn’t have any visitors, because it was during lockdowns.
Some of the nurses would say, “You need to perk yourself up and be keen to get better.” But how do you do that when you don’t know what the future holds, and you’re on the verge of giving up?
I had a friend who subscribed to The Big Issue, and she said there might be work. I thought it was only for people who were homeless. My first edition’s easy to remember: #666, the Neighbours one. When I first started I was still using my mobility walker, but now I don’t need it anymore. That’s the biggest thing I’ve gotten from being a vendor: getting out and about among people, and staying physically active.
The money I earn goes to bills, but at the moment I’m also saving up for a trip to New Zealand to surprise my aunt for her 70th birthday. I’m always saving for my car as well, adding new toys to it – like my custom plates that say “Funny As”. I love comedy. All the British comedians are up my alley: Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Catherine Tate and all that. In 2013 I travelled to the UK by myself, and went down to Torquay on a comedy tour to see where they did Fawlty Towers.
I started my own YouTube channel because I wanted something to do on my pitch, starting off with reviews of different packet soups and coffee. I just want to get the word out there about The Big Issue, that it helps people who are vulnerable and doing it a bit tough, and can’t necessarily get a normal nine-to-five job. Vendors aren’t competing against each other: if you support another vendor, we’re all like, “Good on you!”
What I want to tell my customers is: stay rad and keep being champs. Like, comment, subscribe and stay rad!
Rebecca sells The Big Issue at the Bourke St and Swanston St, Melbourne
Interview by Eliza Janssen
Photo by James Braund
Published in ed#733