There are dolls in the footwells of Jenna's car. She says her daughters play with them as she puts them to sleep.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jenna puts the backseats down in the black SUV and covers her three children with a blanket, placing a few pillows at the headrests to catch their heads.
She leans over and says goodnight from the driver's seat, but Jenna can't sleep. She doesn't feel safe.
"I feel horrible that we ended up here. I didn't want this for myself and especially for my kids."
Jenna has lived in Bendigo carparks with three of her four children, daughters Hollie, 9, and Nevaeh, 4, and son Braylan, 8, since their house burnt down in November 2023.
When Jenna tried to access Haven Home Safe housing support she said she was offered a tent.
"I couldn't believe it. I've heard rumors of people being offered a tent, but I never thought I'd be one of them. Especially with kids," she said.
A spokesperson for Haven said "in an ideal world that would be home or crisis accommodation [available], but the devastating reality is this is not always an option".
Sleepless nights
Jenna said everyday since the fire had been "absolute hell". Her greatest fear was that the state would take her children away from her.
"I feel like a bad mum. I feel like I have let my kids down," she said.
"And I am worried that [my kids] will get taken off me because I don't have suitable accommodation. I'm waiting for it. That is my worst fear at the moment."
When sleeping in the car Jenna was worried Hollie, who has cerebral palsy and autism, and Braylan, who has ADHD, could open the door and run away.
"So at nighttime I try my best to stay awake. I'm worried they will just unlock the door and run away."
'I was terrified': house on fire
Jenna's house burnt down after Braylan, who had problems with "fire lighting", set a fire which got out of control.
"We had been trying to get help for [Braylan's] fire lighting for two years. Because it had been a problem," she said.
The family had lived in the Maiden Gully home for around 18 months. Jenna said she had filled the home with belongings "she had worked so hard to get". A fridge, a TV, photo memories.
Braylan set the caravan in the backyard on fire. When she noticed smoke, Jenna screamed for help.
"I was terrified ... my 14-year-old called the fire brigade and while she was on the phone it got out of control," she said.
"Then people from across the road came over and told me to get out of the house."
The fire ripped through the rear of the house, melting the kitchen and lounge room and spreading through through the hallway to the front door.
She said her room and the garage was all that was saved.
Life after fire
Jenna said Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) funded a motel room for two weeks while she figured out next steps after the fire. Haven also paid for around a week.
She said she had also pitched a tent in a friend's backyard. It was not their first time being homeless. Jenna had lived in her car with her kids for two months before moving into the Maiden Gully home.
She now goes to her grandfather's home in the evening to shower her children and have dinner. Then she will find a place to sleep in a Bendigo carpark around 11pm.
"We will just find somewhere there is toilet blocks".
Falling through gap between services
Jenna had applied for rental homes "constantly", but had not been successful.
"They don't tell you why," she said.
She claimed when she tried to access housing help through Haven Home Safe she was told she was ineligible.
"I tried to link up with Haven and they said they won't take me on as a client because I'm linked through BDAC," she said.
"BDAC have even had a meeting ... and even my child protection worker has had a meeting with Haven and they still refuse to take me on as a client because I am linked through BDAC.
"I am just not eligible for their services."
While not being able to speak on Jenna's case specifically, a Haven Home Safe spokesperson said they regularly worked with other service providers.
"Eligibility criteria doesn't relate to engagement with other services providers - we regularly work with other agencies and support services to help clients achieve their goals," Donna Gillard, Haven Home Safe head of client care, said.
Despite her ineligibility, Jenna's said Haven offered her a tent for her family.
The fact that this was the only crisis housing available made her feel "sick".
"I would feel more comfortable in my car," Jenna said.
"Because at least I can lock my car while we are in there. No one can get in.
"You can't with a tent. Anyone can just walk in."
Ms Gillard said that the housing crisis was so bad that Haven was forced to offer tents.
"We will provide people with a tent or a voucher for camping equipment when they are faced with the incredibly distressing situation of having nowhere else to go," she said.
"And they have expressed a preference for a tent to give them some privacy rather than having to sleep in the open."
Looking for more than 'somewhere to stay'
During the day, when her children are not at school, Jenna said the family might take a day trip to Mount Macedon or play in the park.
She said her daughters loved to play with their dolls, and Braylan loved Lego.
Jenna said the toys helped to distract her children from their reality, but they had started to take notice.
"My four-year-old will say 'why are we sleeping in the car? I'm tired I want to go home'," Jenna said.
"Or if I am on the phone constantly, Braylan would be like, 'mum, are you trying to find us somewhere to stay?'."
It was more than "somewhere to stay" that Jenna wanted for her kids.
"I want a home that we can make our own again so the kids can be settled," Jenna said.
A kitchen to cook dinner, a toy box. A bed to sleep, a bedtime story.
"To be in bed by a certain hour at nighttime. To be up by a certain time in the morning."
