Client struggles to make ends meet

On Monday, Ann (not her real name), came into St John’s Care requiring food and someone to talk to. She explained to Sue Jordan that she is a single mother of five children, from ages 10 - 19, all living at home.

A month ago, she lost her job suddenly and was struggling to make ends meet. She is receiving Newstart payments but is finding it very challenging to make ends meet and to have enough to feed six mouths.

Ann has been applying for many jobs and she is hopeful and persistent. However, her positive attitude is hard to maintain when she consistently receives knock backs with comments about being too old or not having enough qualifications.

She commented that her sons are eating her out of “house and home.” Sue asked if she had eaten, and Ann replied, “No, the children have eaten the last of the food.” She was immediately given a meal and the time to enjoy it.

Ann was also provided with groceries to keep her family going for this week. She was very thankful for this assistance and appeared to be more settled than when she came in.

So far this month, SJC has supported and assisted approximately 285 people with groceries, clothes, blankets, local transport, service information and emotional support.

We desperately need more volunteers for our Breakfast Club program. We currently run this program on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the school term. It is held at Ainslie Primary School and provides many children with a healthy start to the day.

SJC would like to take this opportunity to farewell and thank Rhonda Thorpe for all her years of service to SJC, as a volunteer, committee member and staff member.

Rhonda has given significant time, care and support to SJC and we have been very blessed by this. She has fulfilled the Programs Manager position with professionalism and grace and at times has stepped up into the Director’s role.

Having Rhonda here over the past few months has helped me enormously. Her corporate knowledge has been particularly valuable. We wish her all the best for her future.

We wish everyone an enjoyable Easter and hope you are able to spend time with family and loved ones.

Wish list: Soup, full cream long life milk, breakfast cereals, children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Sarah Murdoch

A/Executive Officer

#food #hungry #unemployed