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CatholicCare Victoria

Eva-Jean's story

Eva-Jean came to us for support when she was dealing with a very difficult time in her life. She and her 11-year-old daughter had recently fled their home to escape from family violence.

Moving to a new suburb meant that her daughter’s school was far away, and when her car broke down and her registration was due, she knew she didn’t have the means to pay for them.

Keeping her daughter in her school was very important to Eva-Jean. They had been through so much already that all she wanted was to keep her daughter’s life as normal as possible. To make this happen, Eva-Jean spent four hours every day on public transport taking her daughter to and from school, and this eventually impacted her ability to continue working.

With little to no income, having a daughter to look after and dealing with stress, isolation, and trauma, Eva-Jean knew she couldn’t do it alone. She found the immediate support she needed through CatholicCare’s Emergency Relief program and counselling services.

CatholicCare helped to get her car back on the road and gave her financial assistance for other living expenses. She also started receiving counselling to address her emotional worries, and to regain the confidence she needed to move forward with her life.

"It has impacted my daughter enormously as she can go to friends and I can take and pick her up. We don’t have such long days getting to and from school. We are both happier and we are making a new home for ourselves with the assistance we have been given. We are both happier and feel freer.” - Eva-Jean


“I needed food to get me through until next pay. I really needed my car back on the road and was very slowly paying off the mechanic. CatholicCare paid the final amount and paid six months registration which was so exciting. This has meant so much to my daughter and myself."

Eva-Jean

Emergency Relief & Counselling client


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19 October 2020
Category: Blog
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