From sleeping rough to raising $10k – how 10 days on the streets shattered Ellie’s beliefs… and changed her life forever.
What happens when a model and reality TV star agrees to give up everything – no phone, no wallet, no help – and live on the streets for 10 days? In this emotional episode, Ellie shares the brutal truth behind her time on SBS’s Filthy Rich & Homeless… and the moment everything she thought she knew about homelessness crumbled.
Dropped 100km from Sydney with nothing but a sleeping bag, Ellie slept rough, begged for food, met a trans woman living in a playground, and was placed in a domestic violence shelter with women escaping horrific abuse. She even ended up in a cockroach-infested boarding house with nine men – and chose to sleep in a park instead.
But it wasn’t just the conditions that broke her. It was the emotional and heartbreaking stories that were shared from people living through this crisis.
Ross and Ellie unpack it all: the fear, the stereotypes, the stories that stuck, and the $10,000 Ellie raised afterward to help change one woman’s life.
“This isn’t just a housing crisis. It’s a humanity crisis.”
Press play – this one will change how you see the world.
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Produced by: Fōcl Media
National Organizations:
- WHITE RIBBON: This is a 24-hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault. CALL: 1800 737 732 - Individuals can also access local support services and search the internet using Daisy, a free app developed by 1800RESPECT that protects user privacy.
- Australian Red Cross: Offers programs for people experiencing homelessness and provides support for those at risk.
- Salvation Army: Provides free help and services for people experiencing homelessness.
- Homelessness Australia: Offers a directory of homelessness support services.
- AskIzzy: An online directory listing support services for those in need, including emergency housing, shelters, and other resources.
- Mission Australia: Provides social and affordable housing options and community services.
- Micah Projects: Offers Pathways out of Homelessness programs, funded by Brisbane City Council.
- Orange Sky: Provides free laundry, showers, and support for people experiencing homelessness and hardship.
- Vinnies: Offers various housing and accommodation options, including crisis accommodation, transitional housing, and community housing.
- DV Connect: Provides support and pathways to safety for people experiencing domestic, family, and sexual violence.
- Homeless Hotline (Queensland): A phone information and referral service for people experiencing homelessness.
- Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (AAEH): A national advocacy organization focused on ending homelessness.
