Homeless person, Hobo, Derro...

When Miles first arrived in Summer Bay he was seen rummaging through garbage bins for food. This has given some of the students and parents cause for concern and ammunition to ridicule their new teacher. However, Miles is not afraid to open up to his class and explain that anyone, from any walk of life, could end up living on the street.

LOC. INT: CLASSROOM - Summer Bay High.

Miles wants to talk to the students about Sally's farewell but hears Axel whispering about his life on the streets and decides to tackle it head on.

Miles
Homeless person, Hobo, Dero...
now these are all just names aren't they?
But behind these names are people,
these people are from all walks of life
and alot of them didn't have a chance to begin with.
And alot of them were professionals, they were lawyers,
they were accountants, they were teachers,
they were mums and dads.
And these people were men and women who have suffered
such an enormous loss that they could not recover.
I was one of those people.

Annie
Are you alright now Sir?

Miles
I'm doing very well thank you.
I mean I realise that when you've been on the street
for such a longtime, you have all that time to soul search
and even the most terrible wounds have time to heal.

Axel
Do you meet alot of other derros...homeless persons Sir?

Miles

I did and I learnt alot from them Axel,
I guess what I learnt is that there is a very fine line
between being normal and being on the street.
At any instant life can change for any of us.

This moving speech inspires Cassie to tell her own story. See how the students react on Wednesday 7pm Channel Seven.