He spent the next eighteen months sleeping in parks, the local shopping mall and on friends' couches. But he always showed up to school, often tired and hungry. Shawn's school, Wyndham Community and Education Centre, connected him to homelessness services, which offered him food, showers and eventually a home. "I turned up to school every day because that was the only way I could get food," he said. "To come somewhere and feel wanted is nice. This was the only constant support I had in my life."

At any one time, approximately three out of 100 students at the Werribee education centre are homeless. These students are often sleep deprived, and the school provides them with pillows and sleeping bags so they can doze between classes. Shawn's experience is not so rare. The number of Victorian students seeking help from homelessness services has more than doubled in the past four years. An analysis of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data by the Council to Homeless Persons shows that 10,470 children enrolled in school and preschool used Victorian homelessness services last financial year. This means that one in 10 people who sought help were enrolled at school. This compares to 4385 children in 2012/13.

High rents in the private rental market and public housing shortages are fuelling the increase, according to the Council's chief executive Jenny Smith. "Homelessness isn't just the rough sleeping we see on the street," said Ms Smith. "Kids from disadvantaged families who aren't fortunate enough to be in social housing are often forced to chop and change schools as they cycle in and out of temporary accommodation or as their parents move around to find cheaper housing." A few months after he became homeless, Shawn realised that education was the only way to escape his situation. Teresa Vizintin, the VCAL and youth manager at Wyndham Community Education Centre, told the then teenager that he needed to finish school.

She made an agreement with Shawn's employer – if he showed up to school, he would keep his job. "It was a bit of tough love," Ms Vizintin said. "There were tears but we got there in the end. We were trying to get Shawn to understand how important education was and how it can change lives." Shawn studied at school late into the evening, and got involved in community projects, because he knew it was safer than being on the streets. Teachers taught him to trust adults, and how to work through personal issues. "You come to school and think you are not equal to other students. They're going to go home to mum and dad but you're not. They were the issues I had to deal with." He completed his VCAL studies in 2013 and secured permanent accommodation halfway through Year 12.