When Jackie (not her real name) walked into the Merimbula Salvos store on Friday, May 4, she was desperate and hoping to get a food parcel to tide her and her children over the weekend.
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Things had gone badly for single mum, Jackie and her family; they were homeless and had been given a night in a Merimbula motel.
They had been evicted for the fourth time due to Jackie’s mother’s gambling problems but this time it was more serious and a series of other problems resulted in them seeking help to get some emergency accommodation.
It was a terrible situation but in the middle of her own crisis, something happened that day that made Jackie write a letter to the News Weekly.
“May God bless the lady customer in the Salvos store that Friday who gave me and my family of five kids $50 out of the kindness of her heart,” Jackie said.
Overwhelmed by the kindness of this stranger in the Merimbula store, the name of the woman didn’t register with Jackie but her kind and thoughtful action did.
“Thank God for people like this. You've made the coming winter warmer. You are in our hearts always,” Jackie said about the woman.
“I wish I could remember the woman's name. I was a bit teary when she told us to enjoy Mothers’ Day.”
Jackie is the first to admit that she hasn’t always made the best choices.
“I don’t have a very good rental history behind me due to other people I've lived with. At our last rental my Mum, who we were sharing with and who has a gambling problem, got us evicted.
“I should be in a better position than this but have made too many bad decisions and relied on those I should not have relied on over the years,” Jackie said.
In the meantime Jackie and her family put everything they could into their car and travelled to emergency accommodation.
“It's a bit of a nightmare,” she said explaining that in the middle of this trauma, the one thing she wanted more than anything was to keep the children in the same school and provide one small bit of stability in their lives.
There were concerns that Jackie and her family might end up sleeping in a tent but the News Weekly has been told by Mission Australia that will not happen and that crisis accommodation will be available probably by the end of the month.
“Thank God for people like the Salvos customer who helped us out. I hope to get into a position again one day to help others in return,” Jackie said.
