East Devonport's Brooke Rouse finds hope after addiction and homelessness

It's been a long, hard road, but the 22-year-old has now been clean for two years, lives in a unit of her own, has two jobs, and is the proud owner of two cats.

Her secret? She found a sense of purpose and community, which she said started two years ago after walking into Hope at St Paul's Kitchen, a north coast Tasmanian not-for-profit which offers free hot meals and a safe space for those who need it.

"I was 20," she said.

"I ran away from home when I was 16 when I started taking drugs.

"I was homeless at the time. I started volunteering in the clothes section, which was also really good because I didn't have many clothes then.

"I was looking for purpose and some meaning ... I discovered that coming here. It was a place where I felt welcome and I didn't feel judged because there were lots of people like me who understood what it's like."

The volunteering at the Devonport kitchen soon proved useful in another way - work experience.

"I have two jobs now," she said.

"I just started working at One Flower Cafe in East Devonport, and I've been working at All things Nice Bakery for a few months.

"It's been really really good ... I'd never had a job before."

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The young woman has also started studying a business course at TAFE, which she admits is "one of the hardest things" she has done so far.

Ms Rouse said the key to her recovery journey was developing a support network by reaching out to as many people and services as she could.

"I went to a lot of places," she said.

"I wanted a better life. Part of it was not being with my family because of the drugs.

"It's about kicking goals, just day at a time. Sometimes the goal is just getting out of bed in the mornings.

"My cat Tom literally was the reason I got out of bed sometimes. My Nan said if she'd known a cat was all it took to get me clean she would have got me ten of them years ago."

Ms Rouse's support worker, Loren Godwin, said she was incredibly proud of the young woman.

"She's got a lot of support now, that's really important," she said.

"It's an ongoing process."

Paul's Kitchen founder Paul Hosking, a former "rough head" himself, said the beauty of the kitchen was that there was no waiting line.

"The best time to help someone is when they ask for it, not stick them on a waiting list and get to them in three months," he said.

"Stories like Brooke's remind me of why I do it."