Family grateful for second chance

A marriage breakdown is often enough to plunge a woman and her children into a cycle of poverty from which it is difficult to escape.

The end of Melissa’s marriage meant the end of a comfortable lifestyle and the beginning of a long struggle to provide the basics for her two children.

The separation left her with little money. Melissa was overwhelmed by depression and unable to work. She had few budgeting skills and found it hard to balance a dramatically reduced income on a benefit with the needs and expectations of her children. The debt began to mount up.

The local Salvation Army helped the family with presents and a hamper during her first Christmas as a single parent.

‘There was no money for Christmas,’ she says. ‘The thought of (the cost of) the kids going back to school on top of that - it was a very dark place for me at that time. That help eased my burden, helped me to breathe, and I was able to take the next step.’

Head of Community Ministries Major Pam Waugh says a good deal of work is done with clients during the year to ensure the expensive Christmas and back-to-school period is managed well enough to avoid debt and excessive stress. This preparation includes time with budgeters and in life skills education programmes. Companies such as Warehouse Stationery generously help out during the post-Christmas period.

The first quarter of each year is the busiest time for The Salvation Army’s Community Ministries centres, as parents struggle with the combined costs of Christmas, having children home for the holidays followed by back-to-school purchases

‘The main aims are to help families avoid debt, which locks people into poverty, and to ensure children are not disadvantaged when they go back to school - that they are not sitting on the side during swimming because they have no togs, or so they aren’t taking their things to school in a plastic bag.’

After receiving help at Christmas and food parcels to take the strain off the family budget, Melissa felt the need to reciprocate and began volunteering at her local Salvation Army Family Store. A year ago, the family had to leave the house they were renting. Left with virtually nothing, Melissa was able to secure a new rental but had no furniture or other household items.

The Salvation Army provided furniture, furnishings, bedding and kitchen and dinnerware. But more importantly, Melissa says, The Salvation Army provided her with a community and moral support at a time when she was heavily medicated to counter her depression.

She says she was barely able to hold a conversation at the time. ‘Without The Salvation Army, I wouldn’t have survived.’

Melissa left school at 15 with few qualifications. She is now studying at university with plans to become a registered nurse.

It’s thanks to supporters like you that The Salvation Army can help Kiwis in need like Melissa and her children.

Please donate today to give more families a second chance.

Photo: Fairfax NZ