Linda – Western Australia

Ten years ago, life changed dramatically for us. My husband, Neil, and I were both working full time, taking long holidays and really enjoying life.

Then the unexpected happened – we became the legal guardians of our two-year-old grandson Blair.

When we first took custody of him we still had money coming in so we were doing alright financially.

I kept working for a while, however I found it increasingly difficult. When he first arrived I would drop him off at daycare at 6.30 in the morning, catch the bus to work in the city and back again, to pick him up by 4pm. I did this for a while, but it just got too much in the end. I had to pack it in.

Neil retired soon after, aged 70, and then things got very tough for us and I knew I’d have no choice but to reach out for help. It was one of the hardest decisions as we’ve never needed charity before. At the time I felt like I was the only one going through it.

We have since met many others out there that are in the same boat as us and they have a lot more children than we do. Talking to others helped a lot.

The food and other things, like tissues, washing up detergent and toiletries, have been a huge help, because in the weeks when you haven’t got that extra bit of money, you know you can still get enough food to get you by until the next fortnight.

Linda, Grancarer Perth