“Family isn’t always forged by sharing a birth line, sometimes it’s forged in shared circumstances”.

Lana was a young lady that I had the honour and privilege of knowing, we’d met while we were both homeless. We weren’t in each others’ company constantly during this time, but enough that we forged a close bond. So much so that I’d consider her my sister.

Her homelessness began when she was 12 years old, she believed she was 14 when we met. Time is hard to monitor when you’re sleeping rough, especially in the 90’s before mobile phones.

When I obtained housing, she tried extremely hard to stay there with me. Trauma can be an eternal tormenter, and she was unable to stay. She’d experienced so much trauma in her early life that being inside an apartment was traumatic for her.

I don’t want to share too much more of her story here, however I do need to say that she lost her life to homelessness.

She was 16 years old.

I didn’t know her last name, however she is remembered as Lana Vapor, and she’s a permanent member of our family.

She’ll forever be Loved And Never Alone.