Support for struggling families this Christmas

For most of us, Christmas is a joyous season.

It’s a time of fellowship and grateful thanks for God’s many blessings.

But after 18 months of COVID-19 and the challenges that come with it – lockdown, job loss, and Victoria’s housing emergency – hope can feel very far away.

Especially for women in crisis like Sharon.

“I was homeless from June last year to April this year,” says Sharon. “It was terrible. When you are homeless, you have no privacy…  you don’t have a bed to sleep in that you can call your own… It’s as simple as that.”

Sharon and her father were living in homelessness during Christmas last year, but Christmas wasn’t a time for celebration…

“We ended up in a motel, then in a caravan park in a cabin. It was the size of a 40-foot container… No bathroom – that was across the compound. Cold water. No hot showers,” said Sharon.

“There was no opportunity to celebrate Christmas, I mean, my daughter wouldn't even come and stay… There was no hot water for her, and she didn't like going across the yard to go to the toilet in the dark, whether I had a torch or not with me.”

Being homeless not only separated Sharon from her daughter, but it also made it difficult for her to manage her mental health and general wellbeing, as well as that of her father’s.

When Sharon came into contact with our Homeless to a Home program at CatholicCare Victoria, it was only a few weeks before she and her father had their very own unit to call home.

“If it wasn’t for CatholicCare Victoria, I’d still be homeless,” says Sharon.

“Even though I was homeless and had nothing, literally nothing, my CatholicCare worker was able to not only get me this unit, but help me with furniture as well.”

This pandemic has been hard on us all. But as with every disaster, COVID-19 is making the already vulnerable more vulnerable still.

This Christmas, we’ll be delivering 500 food hampers to struggling Victorian families and individuals, as well as providing counselling support and rental assistance to people in crisis. But we need your help.

By choosing a gift for our virtual Giving Tree today, you’ll be giving Victorians like Sharon – and their families – a joyful Christmas they’ll remember.

All gifts, big or small, make a difference.

Donate to the Giving Tree Appeal