Our stories

Meg and her 4 year old son Sam live in Werrington in western Sydney. The family first started engaging with SHINE for Kids through the Parklea Child and Family Centre as Sam’s dad is in custody at Parklea Correctional Centre. Meg was then referred to SHINE’s Intensive Family Case Management program so that we could provide further support to the family at home.

During the latest COVID lockdown, Meg has been working with her SHINE Family Support Worker to meet the needs of the family home, including receiving hampers from Foodbank Australia fortnightly and arts and craft packs from SHINE for Sam to do at home and send to his dad so that they can stay connected while visits are suspended.

During the lockdown, Meg reached out to SHINE and told us she had received an eviction notice. Her partner’s incarceration had placed financial stress on the family. In addition to this stress, they were having an especially difficult time as restrictions meant Sam couldn’t visit his dad and the family were experiencing great sadness and mental health concerns.

SHINE was able to support Meg through this tough time by working collaboratively with Anglicare to arrange for the full amount of rental arrears to be paid, preventing the family’s eviction. This was a fantastic outcome and Meg was so appreciative of the help, she cried tears of happiness when she was told they would not be evicted.

SHINE will continue to work collaboratively with Anglicare who are now assisting Meg with financial counselling and helping her set up strategies and have the tools to prevent this situation from happening again.

SHINE are proud to be able to continue supporting Meg’s family through phone calls, food hamper deliveries, linking them with services and by working through a set case plan that is client driven to enable positive outcomes and alleviate stress during such a challenging time.