One of them was Suzanne. A former model turned flight attendant, it was Suzanne who welcomed passengers on-board a jet. She was the calm, reassuring presence that anyone who is nervous about flying prays for. But Suzanne\u2019s life was about to be upended. On the morning of 14 September 2001, along with the rest of Ansett\u2019s employees, she received notice that the airline had been grounded. What would later be revealed as one of Australia\u2019s biggest corporate collapses left a swathe of human wreckage as thousands were thrown out of their jobs.<\/p>
Suzanne remembers the trauma that her job loss brought into her marriage. \u201cMy husband was out of work and things got bad. I had my own home. I owned it outright. But because my husband had no money, we borrowed against it\u2026 and anyway the house got lost. We got divorced and I had to sell it for a pittance.\u201d<\/p>
In time, Suzanne and her ex-husband reconciled. Ironically, it was only after their divorce that she learned her husband had been living with an undiagnosed mental illness\u2014bipolar disorder. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about bipolar. I didn\u2019t know there was such a thing. If I had known, I wouldn\u2019t have gotten divorced.\u201d With his mental illness diagnosed, they remained friends and were together all the time. Tragedy struck on Christmas Day 2014 when Suzanne\u2019s ex-husband had passed away.<\/p>
As she grieved this significant loss, Suzanne had to face a new financial urgency, \u201cI had to get out of my rental property. I didn\u2019t know where I was going or what I was doing.\u201d Then the echo of her job loss at Ansett came back with the loss of the vital part-time job she relied on. Without family or friends to call
on, the daunting Everest in life was finding next
week\u2019s rent money. To clear her mind she would take her dog Siobhan for long walks around the neighbourhood streets.<\/p>
One day, stopping before a church she\u2019d passed many times before, she did something unexpected and walked inside. In conversation with a priest, she unburdened herself of her troubles. It was a catalyst for positive change. \u201cHe put me in touch with a lovely husband and wife and they were helpful. They\u2019ve become like family,\u201d Suzanne said. Then an old friend referred her to Wesley Community Housing, which helped her access transitional housing: secure, subsidised housing for people on low incomes.<\/p>
Liesa, from Wesley Community Housing, explains, \u201cPeople usually stay in transitional housing for six to 18 months. It gives them a stable, safe place to live while they work with us or other support providers to find longer-term housing that meets their needs.\u201d<\/p>
The Wesley Mission Therapeutic Support team also assisted Suzanne. She moved into a cosy one-bedroom apartment. It\u2019s close to Suzanne\u2019s church and her support network of friends and, perhaps most importantly, it\u2019s in a building that allows pets. \u201cWe were lucky, because we don\u2019t often have properties available in this building,\u201d Liesa said. \u201cAnd this one even has the little courtyard.\u201d<\/p>
Suzanne and Siobhan have lived in the flat for a year and, with Liesa\u2019s assistance, Suzanne recently signed a lease for six more months.<\/p>
It is, in Suzanne\u2019s words, her \u201chappy little home\u201d, albeit a temporary one. Wesley Community Housing is in regular contact with Suzanne and working closely with her to plan the next move towards more permanent housing.<\/p>
Suzanne said she did not think she was a person who would ever ask for help in life. But Wesley Mission listened and offered support. \u201cI\u2019m eternally grateful for all the lovely people within Wesley Mission I\u2019ve dealt with,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone has just been so kind and sweet and loving and offered a hand. They weren\u2019t dismissive. They gave out love and care.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t