Joshua's story

Click on the image below to view Joshua's story

Today, 40,000 young Australians aged between 15 and 17 are neither in school nor working, and are getting left behind. Most employers simply aren’t interested if you haven’t finished secondary school.

But leaving school at 15 sometimes isn’t a matter of choice.

Joshua* was still at school when his mother walked out of their home and told him she was never coming back.

He had no means to support himself and had to take on odd jobs instead of going to school. He slept in the carport of a man he knew, feeling safer knowing there was an adult nearby. 

Then for the next few years he slept on the streets and at the homes of friends.

These years of struggling to survive took their toll on Joshua’s dental health. His neglected, rotting teeth became so bad, and he was so desperate with the pain, that he took a sledge hammer wrapped in a tea towel and knocked out his front teeth. For the next two years he went on struggling with the pain, and the humiliation of missing front teeth.  

When Joshua came to the Brotherhood he was in dire straits. Thanks to intervention from Brotherhood case workers, he received employment training, and his teeth were fixed. Now Joshua’s life has turned around. He enjoys a secure job, good health, and can smile once more. 

Your support is vital in enabling us to continue to help young people like Joshua who are marginalised in our society.

Please donate to our Winter Appeal today.  

*Joshua’s story is a true story told by one of our clients as part of a research project conducted by the Brotherhood into dental care undertaken in 2009. The video is closely based on the transcript of that interview. However, due to privacy concerns, Joshua is a pseudonym and has been portrayed by an actor.