![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/6c9be6e3cfba58c72f26ac348c5c4dca.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBy the time he met Dorothy Maafu, Jake Dell’Aquila had been sleeping in a tent on a Melbourne beach for months.<\/p>\n
Every evening, he would unpack his things and settle in with his German shepherd dog on the Rosebud foreshore.<\/p>\n
Every morning, he would pack them up again.<\/p>\n
He had been unhoused for more than a year.<\/p>\n
Loading…<\/p>\n
“I’d tried everything,” he told Mornings with Raf Epstein on 774 ABC Melbourne this week.<\/p>\n
“I’d tried all the resources. I’d tried the Salvation Army. I’d tried everything and nothing had worked.<\/p>\n
“I was so desperate for help and there [was] no help through \u2026 any of these programs because I’ve got a dog, [and] there’s the housing crisis.”<\/p>\n
It was on those cold mornings that Ms Maafu, a nearby resident, started to see him as she walked her own dog.<\/p>\n
The pair started talking. After a while, the polite chat turned into an invitation to come visit Dorothy’s home for some meals and a shower.<\/p>\n
“I wanted to understand what it was that drove him to the streets,” she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dorothy Maafu says she wanted to help bring back some stability and dignity into Jake’s life. (ABC News: Jonathon Kendall)<\/p>\n
“From my own experience, homelessness isn’t always about someone needing a roof over their head for one night.<\/p>\n
“It’s about giving people stability, dignity, and a chance to just get their lives back on track.”‘Just one person can make a difference’\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Mr Dell’Aquila, the path to that Rosebud beach involved cutting off his family and friends, escaping dysfunction and abuse.<\/p>\n
“I seemed to be doing circles and things had not been working out the best for me,” he said.<\/p>\n
“At times it was very hard. But I never gave up.”<\/p>\n
Sometime after those first few shared meals and moments of connection, Ms Maafu took a further step.<\/p>\n
She purchased a second-hand caravan, and booked Mr Dell’Aquila into caravan parks for the next six months.<\/p>\n
![\"Dorothy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/d085ad9515538ca129a0742503cd604e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Dorothy Maafu says she would do it all again if it meant stopping someone from sleeping rough. (ABC News: Jonathan Kendall)<\/p>\n
“I haven’t been able to solve everything, but knowing he has shelter rather than a broken tent means a lot to me,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It was a tough road for both of us in just getting him stable.<\/p>\n
“But I would do it all over again for another Mr Dell’Aquila on the street because it just breaks my heart to see these people, the situations they get into.<\/p>\n
“My friends and family couldn’t believe what I did. But if I don’t do it, who else is going to do it?<\/p>\n
“Just one person can make a difference in someone’s life.”<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/73a56442c1a94a148a8dbf30dfc06886.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Jake Dell’Aquila says he does not know if he would be a home owner living a stable life without Dorothy’s support. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)<\/p>\n
The stability meant Mr Dell’Aquila has been able to find work, and to find a spot in a safe rental property.<\/p>\n
Ms Maafu, he said, would remain a lifelong friend.<\/p>\n
“Everyone just needs a little bit of a helping hand,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t being approached by anyone the way Dorothy approached me, and it was so moving and so powerful and so life-changing what she’s done.<\/p>\n
“I may not be in the situation I’m in now with my own house and stability and paying bills if it wasn’t for that little kickstart that Dorothy helped me with.”<\/p>\n