More Than a Statistic – The Hidden Faces of Homelessness

Homelessness isn’t just about losing a home; it’s about losing your rights, dignity, and protection under the law. For many women, homelessness is not caused by addiction or financial irresponsibility but by domestic abuse and legal manipulation.

I never thought I would be homeless. I owned my home. I had stability. Until the day the legal system allowed my abuser to steal it from me.

When I walked away from my abuser, I believed the courts would uphold the truth. I thought my human rights mattered. I thought the legal system would protect me, the victim.

I was wrong.

Instead, I found myself in a brutal fight for my own home, trapped in a system that allowed an abuser to lie in court, conceal assets, and manipulate legal loopholes, all while I was left with nothing.

This is not just my story.

This is the story of thousands of survivors abandoned by the legal system.

The court betrayal: How my abuser lied to steal my home

I owned my home.

Yet, I was the one left homeless because my abuser lied, manipulated financial records, and weaponized the court system against me.

During Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) proceedings, my abuser concealed assets and presented false financial information to the court.

With deception and legal loopholes, he obtained a writ to sell my home, despite having no legitimate claim to it.

I fought back.

I provided evidence.

I proved his financial dishonesty.

But the courts refused to listen.

Instead of investigating the concealed assets, the system allowed a ruling based on lies to stand.

• My legal ownership of the property was ignored.

• My abuser’s false financial disclosures were not questioned.

• My rights as a homeowner were stripped away while my abuser walked free.

This should not have happened.

The Protection for Domestic Abuse Laws of 2010 exists to ensure survivors do not lose their homes to abusers.

But laws mean nothing if the courts do not enforce them.

I did everything right. I sought justice.

I provided proof of the deception.

Yet, I was legally evicted from my own home, not because I broke the law but because the system refused to hold my abuser accountable.

And I am not alone.

Thousands of survivors face the same injustice.

They leave their abusers only to fight for years in court, battling financial abuse and legal manipulation.

If a woman owns her home yet ends up homeless because of court failures, what does justice really mean?

The cold reality of surviving alone

When I became homeless, I learned the truth: once you fall through the cracks, the world stops seeing you.

• I was denied emergency housing because my home was still in my name, even though I was legally forced out of it.

• Social services refused to help because I had no children, despite being a victim of financial and legal abuse.

• Support services placed me on waitlists that stretched for months time I didn’t have.

I sat on a cold concrete bench, hugging my coat around me, wondering how the world had moved on while I was being erased.

For months, I lived in a cycle of rejection, fear, and exhaustion.

As a woman on the streets, the dangers were constant. I had to hide at night to stay safe.

I had to keep moving to avoid being targeted.

I had to learn to disappear because being seen meant being vulnerable.

How many more women will be punished for fighting back?

How many more survivors will lose everything simply because they left an abuser?

No woman should have to fight this hard to keep what is already hers.

Turning my pain into power

I refused to let homelessness be the end of my story.

Even when I had no roof over my head, I had my voice.

I wrote about my experience, exposing the legal failures that enable financial abuse.

I launched a podcast, Silent Screams, Loud Strength, to amplify the voices of women like me.

I spoke out, demanding reforms to ensure no survivor is forced to endure what I did.

And I kept fighting.

For my rights. For my dignity.

For the thousands of other women still trapped in the system that failed me.

A call to action: What needs to change

Survivors deserve better.

We need real change, not just laws that exist on paper but laws that are enforced to protect survivors.

• Enforce Protection for Domestic Abuse Laws. No survivor should lose their home due to court failures.

• Investigate Financial Fraud in Family Court. Abusers should not be allowed to lie and manipulate assets.

• Provide Immediate Housing for Survivors. No woman should be denied emergency shelter due to property disputes.

• Increase Legal Aid and Support. Survivors need legal representation to fight against financial abuse.

We must stop treating survivors like problems to be ignored.

We must fight for a system that protects, not punishes, those who seek help.

Conclusion: I am not defeated, and neither are you

I lost my home.

I lost faith in the system. But I did not lose myself.

I am still here.

I am still fighting.

And I will continue using my voice until no survivor is left behind.

Homeless, Not Defeated is not just my story. It is a testament to survival.

It is a call for justice.

It is proof that we are more than what has happened to us.

To every survivor out there:

You are not invisible. You are not powerless.

And no matter how dark the night, the dawn always comes.

How to support this fight

• Pre-order my books: Silent Screams, Loud Strength, Homeless, Not Defeated—My full journey from homelessness to advocacy.

• Listen to my Podcast: Silent Screams, Loud Strength, A platform for survivors to share their stories.

• Demand legal reform: Call on policymakers to enforce laws that actually protect survivors.

Together, we can ensure that no survivor is left unprotected, unheard, or unseen.

Samantha Avril-Andreasen Author, Advocate, Survivor