A New Year Brings New Hope
By donating to Open Support, you ensure we keep helping people from crisis to safety, from fear to freedom.
Meet Melina*.
Melina and her two children were extremely traumatised by a persistent history of Domestic Abuse. The family had moved to Australia with high hopes that the move would make her husband happy. Melina came from a highly educated background leaving behind a great career. Things went downhill fast and the violence and controlling behaviours escalated. Melina had only been in Australia for two weeks when she knew that for her children’s safety she had to escape quickly as they too were becoming targets.
Melina and her children came to us with no money and with her visa situation still precarious. Her situation was dire. She and her family stayed with us where we were able to help them secure visas, have access to income and to find safe and secure private rental accommodation. They were also assisted into education that would equip them for work in Australia.
Twelve months ago, they left our Outreach Program. Melina and her eldest child are now working, and the youngest child is at school. They are now independent and happy.
Melina’s daughter rang us and said, “I just want to tell you how happy Mum and I are with the support that you guys provided us – I have started working, I have my driver’s licence and a car, and my brother is now starting school. Thank you.”
Please give a gift today.
Your gift will help people like Emma*.
Emma came to us with an already established network of people, including friends, family, and work colleagues, but due to extremely low self-esteem she was not engaging with any of them. She had been avoiding work and events due to her acute social anxiety. She spent her free time alone and wasn’t engaging with her children and their activities at school.
We worked with Emma to build her confidence, challenge her negative thoughts about herself and helped her open up to re-connecting with her community. Emma started attending work meetings, doing courses that she had put off for years and initiating fun activities with her children. She has increased her friendship circle and started to experience joy and purpose in her life again.
Emma shared with us, “I had therapy and psychological treatments for the past 3 years; however Open Support have been the only ones to really understand and assist with my social challenges.”
Your gift will help bring new hope to people like Melina and Emma, offering a fresh start.
“Your gift helps provide connection and safety for people in need. With your support we create an enduring and positive impact in our community now and every day of the year.”
*Not her real name – we protect client confidentiality at all times