Neil’s story
Without a washing machine, Neil and his partner were struggling to ensure their children had clean school uniforms to wear.
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 of their children has severe ADHD and autism which impacts greatly on daily life. As the couple are unable to work money is extremely tight. It has been an increasingly tough struggle to make ends meet as the cost of all the essentials they need to buy continues to rise. This has meant the family has needed to access food parcels over the past few months.
Another huge challenge has been that the couple have been struggling to provide clean clothes, including school uniforms, for their children after the family’s washing machine broke. The family had no money to buy a replacement. Neil was helping Lois who had been trying to wash all the family’s clothes by hand during free moments but this was a real issue due to her existing mobility issue, for which she was already taking daily pain medication. This physical task was causing her a great deal of discomfort and distress and was also causing an issue at school as the children often didn’t have a school uniform ready to wear despite the couple’s best efforts.
Thanks to your support we have been able to supply the family with a new washing machine, which means the family can now keep on top of their laundry and the two eldest children can go to school in clean uniforms each day. This one item has made a massive difference and has had a positive impact on this family’s well-being and dignity.
"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."
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