Jasmin was 5 when she lost her parents. The next decade was the scariest of her life.

Jasmin was just five years old when she entered the foster system. Her father had lost his life to mental health, and her mum suffered from a genetic illness that made her unable to care for her three children.

Instantly, Jasmin and her two siblings felt othered.

"We always knew and felt the difference between being the outsiders [compared] to people who are born into the family. We were treated differently to other kids in the house and at school," the now-22-year-old told Mamamia.

The three children were in the same care throughout primary school, but when Jasmin entered high school, the siblings were separated.

Watch: This is the reality for Aussie kids living in foster care. Post continues below.

"Come year seven, as soon as the DHS (Department of Human Services) had closed, there were drugs [in the foster homes] and stuff like that. There was no one checking in from the department and holding carers accountable," Jasmin said.

She and her younger sister were given another placement together, but it wouldn't last long.

"That fell apart for me. She stayed, but I knew it would fall apart for her too," Jasmin recalled.

Jasmin ended up in a few different houses after that, but never felt like she "belonged anywhere".

"No matter what family I was in or who I was staying with, nothing ever felt like it was permanent. I've been on two different permanent care orders, and both have broken down. So even the term 'permanent' just doesn't make you feel like you belong."

Jasmin would try to flag issues like drugs in the home with the proper authorities. But nothing changed.

"I never felt like anyone listened. No matter how many times I'd say something about a house or about a person I was living with, I guess because of the shortage of foster carers, it just didn't matter. It was like I should have been grateful to have a roof over my head."

When nothing improved, Jasmin ran away from her first permanent care placement. 

"I had to take photos of the drugs and stuff so that people would believe me," she said. "There's just that stigma around being in out-of-home care, that you can't be trusted, and you're just a naughty kid or a teenager who's not getting her own way or whatnot. When I think about myself or even some of my other family, it's definitely not the case."

When Jasmin ran away from her second permanent care placement, she was sent back and told she was "being a naughty little teenager, and ungrateful".

Then, she turned 18 and was kicked out of her placement.

"It was actually a week before Christmas, and I ended up at my boyfriend's house at the time, but then we broke up, and I was staying with him. I was super lucky that I had that support of his family, but it was an awkward space to be in."

Meanwhile, the teenager was working three jobs, just "to be able to scrape by".

"I didn't really have anywhere to go," she said. "At work I'd be crying to my boss on shift. I don't have any family to call upon, I couldn't call [anyone] on mum's side, dad's side, any aunties or uncles. There's actually no one. I couldn't even call on any of the foster families, because they'd all ended quite badly. It was scary; I just didn't know where to go, what to do."

Despite her circumstances, Jasmin describes herself as "lucky".

"My dad passed away when I was quite little, and I feel like, often, he's looking over, making sure things are going well for me, there's always a backup plan," she explained.

And that plan materialised in the form of a phone call from her development coach. They had found her somewhere to live.

"They completely set me up in a unit, like everything that I could need — a fridge, couch, TV, all my pots and pans and plates and cutlery and towels, literally anything and everything that I could need in a house, they were able to support with, because I didn't have any savings. There's no way I could have done that by myself," she said.

Her support coach — part of the organisations Better Futures and Home Stretch — also assured Jasmin that they would be able to support rent if there were any arrears. It was at this point, Jasmin said, that "all the transformations started happening".

"My life sort of took off from there," she said. "I was linked in with a psychologist, [and] my development coach would check in every month to see if there was anything further they could support with, or [to ask] where I was at with things."

Jasmin is now engaged and has taken in her younger cousin and sister.

"My sister moved in with me after she turned 18, because the placement did break down. And I knew it was going to happen," she said.

"Even though she was turned against me, she still reached out, because she knew things weren't right at home, and she knew if anyone was going to listen, it would be someone who's been through the same thing. "

The 22-year-old is also sharing her story as co-host of the 2025 National Home Stretch Symposium.

"I'm mostly excited to do it. People are starting to notice that we can't just cut people off at 18 and send them off to deal with life by themselves, especially with no financial support.

"I think about myself at 18 with no savings, no license, a casual job, no one to call upon. Where was I supposed to go? What was I supposed to do? I feel lucky that there was such a transforming, life-changing program for me."

Looking back on her time in foster care, Jasmin wishes she believed in herself more.

"I think about the adults in my life who were supposed to be looking after me and protecting me. Instead of doing something about the way I was feeling, I was being gaslit into thinking that I was the issue.

"Once I turned 18, like, I had to put a lot of work into counselling because of all of the placement breakdowns and family and all the different houses I've been in. I look back and think that was all my fault. Like, how could one person have so many family breakdowns or relationship breakdowns in all these different situations and it not be me that's the issue?

"But breaking down every single issue and everything that happened, I think I just see a little girl who's trying to explain how she feels and being shut down by adults because it was easier for them."

Feature Image: Supplied