Mushtaq is a young man who travelled to Australia from Pakistan to seek asylum.

Mushtaq has had no way to pay rent for his room in a sharehouse after COVID-19 restrictions caused him to lose his job at a processing factory in March. He has been applying for jobs with no success.

Because of his situation, Mushtaq is not emotionally well. He feels a deep shame in his current inability to contribute to rent and immense pressure from the other tenants.

The COVID-19 shutdowns and the federal government’s omission of asylum seekers from the Jobseeker and Jobkeeper payments has left Mushtaq, and many others in the same situation, feeling hopeless. The have been left to rely on organisations like SSI to avoid homelessness.

SSI in now assisting Mushtaq to find employment and he has been referred to receive financial support from other emergency relief agencies, including Red Cross.

#HearMyStory #NobodyLeftBehind *Not his real name or image