Former child actor and Young Talent Time star Debra Byrne said she faces homelessness as Australia’s housing crisis continues to worsen.
In an emotional plea on social media, the singer, 66, said she could be without a roof over her head after getting an eviction notice because her landlord decided to sell the house.
Not only could she be without a home, but her two young grandchildren, Oliver and Aaron, who live with her, are also at risk.
The grandmother raised her daughter’s children from birth and worked in the entertainment industry for several years before receiving health care benefits.
Her daughter Lauren is mentally retarded and couldn’t consistently care for her children, so Debra got full custody of the two boys.
Former child actor and Young Talent Time star Debra Byrne (pictured) said she faces homelessness as Australia’s housing crisis deepens
Debra said it is more difficult for her to get a rental house now in an overstretched market as she is a full-time caregiver and a retiree looking after young children.
“So I’ve been on the caregiving pension for a few years,” she wrote in an emotional Facebook post.
How dare the rental industry disapprove of retirees. How dare they see us as incapable of paying our rent.’
In an emotional plea on social media, the singer, 66, said she could be without a roof over her head after getting an eviction notice because her landlord is selling (Debra pictured on Young Time Talent as a teenager)
Not only could she be without a home, but her two young grandchildren, Oliver and Aaron, also live with her and are in danger
‘I succeeded very well. I am organized, I shop with depositors, I have an excellent rental record, I have a well-loved home.
“I love gardening and have often left a rental in a better condition than when we arrived.”
She continued, “I have PTSD, I’m on medication. I take care of two beautiful people with special needs.
“Just a few minutes ago, someone from our local post office knocked on our door to sign one of my CDS.
“The irony, I’m desperate for safety for my family.”
Debra’s fans have rallied around the star to help her secure a new home.
In a fan group, someone wrote: “Please help Debra find a suitable home for her, her daughter and grandson in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.”
Many fans were shocked that a celebrity like Debra would be in that position, with one person commenting, “I’m sorry to hear this about Debbie and her family, but I would have thought that the star she is would have enough money to to buy your own place.’
Debra Byrne (left) with her Young Talent Time co-stars in 1971, including Johnny Young (third from left)
Debra was one of the original cast members of Young Time Talent and starred on the show for four years.
After the show, Debra appeared in the Australian productions of high profile shows like Cats, Les Miserables and Sunset Boulevard.
She had revealed her struggles with heroin and cocaine in her 2006 memoir Not Quite Ripe, while a sex tape featuring Debra and a former partner was leaked to the media in the late 1980s.
More recently, Debra made a claim on Facebook in 2014 that she was raped while filming the Young Talent Time short film Caravan Holiday in 1972.
Byrne posted a plea for witnesses to alleged abuse she suffered on set to come forward on Facebook, but has since deleted the post
‘After a day of filming, we were swimming in a pool. I don’t remember where the pool was, but while I was in the pool (name withheld) swam up to me and digitally raped me,” she wrote in the post, which has since been deleted.
Byrne gave a scathing response to Tina Arena after YTT Unmasked aired last year, after she spoke about the “protected” stars.
“(Being protected) has nothing to do with luck,” she wrote on social media, according to The Daily Telegraph last September.
“It takes attention, organization, vigilance, intelligence, awareness, and the realization that wherever children congregate, there is likely to be an abuser. For me there were many.’
Byrne (pictured) gave a scathing response to Tina Arena after YTT Unmasked aired last year, after she spoke about the stars being ‘protected’