Mum is now thriving

Eva* is a single mother with three-year-old son, they previously lived in an old warehouse in Onehunga that was made into a church. They needed support because the room was cold and her son would get sick often.  It was small and could only fit a double mattress on the floor and not much else.

It was not suitable for a very active toddler who needed the space to thrive. Eva worked part time and considered her church family as her main supports.  Family moved to Monte Cecilia Emergency/transitional housing in January this year and was supported by our whanau worker to make a plan with small achievable steps towards housing goals. During her stay with us she endured some struggles where a friend could no longer help care for her son while she worked during the day. This affected her dramatically because the stress of not been able to earn an income to pay her high debt was taking a toll on her well-being. She felt there was no other options for her so she resigned from her job to take sole care of her son.

Monte whanau worker supported Eva by providing some new options. The new plan involved exploring local ECE centre around the corner for her child to attend kindy which allowed her to continue working. Monte supported her negotiate with the ECE centre and her boss to find a way forward with suitable times for everyone involved. That week she enrolled and transitioned her son into local ECE which was 2 mins walking distance.  She had no car so she would get on a bus and travel to and from work with her new negotiated hours. This young mother was now thriving after she was able to overcome this obstacle, she went on to achieve her learners license and purchased her first car, changed her son into local ECE and accepted a long term affordable sustainable Monte community housing option 

*Not her real name