Katie’s story

Katie was struggling financially and not being able to buy the essentials she needed for herself and her children was having a severe impact their quality of life.

Katie for web

Helping struggling families

Katie is a single parent to three children. She works part-time in a school but her wages are low and she has been finding it increasingly challenging to make ends meet. The cost of her daily essentials, including food and utilities, continues to rise and she also has to find the money to pay for her children to get the bus to school each day.

Katie and two of her children have celiac disease which means it is extremely important that they adhere to a strict diet. However, Katie’s cooker broke some time ago and she hasn’t been able to afford a replacement. This has meant that preparing appropriate and nourishing meals for the family has proved difficult and expensive. Katie has also been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for over two years and as the property currently has a problem with damp, the mattress itself has become damp and soiled and Katie has been suffering with back issues due to sleeping on the floor for such a long period.

Katie has fallen behind on the payments on her utilities and this has been causing her a lot of upset; she doesn’t want to fall further into arrears and could see no way of being able to buy or save for the cooker and bed that she so desperately needed. This has meant that her self-esteem and confidence has been extremely low in recent months.

Thanks to your support we have now been able to step in and help the family, providing a new bed and mattress for Katie and an electric cooker to not only help Katie to feed her family more easily, but to also take some of the significant strain off her daily challenges. Thank you

"It’s fantastic to see all the ways the community comes together to improve the lives of people in need. From undertaking challenges, to dress-up days, quizzes, raffles and cake-bakes, to donating, setting up a regular gift, volunteering or spreading the word, it all helps to ensure people living in hardship are warm, safe and fed and have the basics in life that we all deserve."

Neil’s story

Neil, who has two school-age children and a younger child, was referred to us in need of urgent help by a support worker at the children’s primary school. Both Neil and his partner Lois have long-term health conditions and one…

Read More

Katie’s story

Katie is a single parent to three children. She works part-time in a school but her wages are low and she has been finding it increasingly challenging to make ends meet. The cost of her daily essentials, including food and…

Read More

Niamh’s story

Niamh has been struggling to make ends meet. She takes prescribed medication for a mental health illness and as she is a single parent, caring for her young son, she is unable to work. With limited benefits she has been…

Read More

Sonya’s story

Sonya was referred to us for help by a domestic abuse charity after she fled her home with her three boys. Sonya is now trying to get by as a single parent and is working part-time in the hospitality industry.…

Read More

Tim’s story

Tim has a mental health condition and is a hoarder. He has few family or friends and has lived alone for much of his adult life.  His Health Care Support Worker found that the property he was living in was…

Read More

Donald’s story

Pensioner Donald is affected by a number of serious mental health issues which have made life a challenge. He has recently separated from his wife which meant a move to sheltered accommodation which has been a massive and unsettling change.…

Read More

Damani’s story

Damani is a single mum to two young daughters. She works part-time but her wages are low and it has been a struggle to make ends meet for some time. This has been even more challenging as the cost of…

Read More

Katie’s story

Katie was referred to us for help by her support worker. A young mum living with her toddler and baby, Katie has been diagnosed with a number of mental health conditions which mean she is currently unable to work. As…

Read More

Deborah’s story

Deborah, who is in her seventies, was knocked over by a group of young people on bikes and ended up in hospital with internal bleeding and broken ribs. A friend was preparing for her to return home after her time…

Read More

Clara’s story

Clara was referred to us by a Community Psychiatric Nurse. Clara suffered sexual and physical abuse as a child and spent periods of time in care. As an adult, due to mental health issues and a history of serious self-harm,…

Read More