“I was enduring domestic violence every day and I didn’t know how to go on. I’d had enough of my life.”
This is how Beryl describes her life before she contacted Anglicare for help. Several Christmases were spent alone watching families in the nearby units receiving visitors and celebrating. But Beryl and her young son were completely alone, struggling to makes ends meet.
“I heard about Anglicare from a friend who goes to an Anglican church in town. She introduced me to Anglicare’s financial counsellor.” After learning about Beryl’s difficult situation, the Anglicare team immediately assigned a case manager to assist her. They also helped to enrol Beryl and her son in the HIPPY program to help prepare him for school.
“The staff there are always looking out for the people they work with. When I feel down, I call my case manager, Mel. I find communicating in English hard sometimes, but she helps me to understand. She’s a really great case worker,” says Beryl.
“The Anglicare team check on me every week and I’m so thankful. Worry and anxiety used to affect me so much. I was getting chronic headaches and I had no one to talk to and share with. Now I have someone. They are like my family here, and now I can stand on my own two feet,” says Beryl. “If I hadn’t met Anglicare, I don’t know what my life would be like now.
The Anglicare team assisted Beryl as she moved into a private rental. But sadly many other people like Beryl, are still waiting for help.
Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot was released last month. It measures how many properties are affordable for people relying on government supports.
Sadly, this is also affecting many people in the ACT and southern and western NSW. Housing markets in many regional areas, which used to be considered more affordable, are now tightening and putting significant strain on lower income households.
Pictured below: Beryl with her son and Anglicare case manager, Mel.
