“It’s FREEZING here, and this morning I found a student sitting behind a classroom block wearing a thin short-sleeved polo shirt and a pair of shorts, with just a pair of jandals on his feet. He said his mum couldn’t afford shoes or a jersey. He’s missing the very basics, and I’m worried about his mental health.
We live in the most dire of low socio-economic areas. I passed two food banks on my way home yesterday, and the line out the door was heartbreaking. It's almost like a third world country. Some of our students mostly come to school for food, so they can get a hot meal a day.
I go out every day into the community, and it can get really, really depressing. Yesterday, I visited a family. There were three tents on the front lawn, and each of them had a family in it. It was cold, raining, and miserable. That’s what these kids are living among. I’ve seen up to 30 people living on the one property, so they can share expenses. But it does bring a whole lot of other problems - if one is sick, that’s everyone down. I come in every morning at half past six. I know the ones that come from homes where there's two more families living together, they’ll be coming through the gate not long after.
A few students live in motels, which I guess is better than a tent, but it's still homelessness. It has a huge impact on their mental health. These students are the ones who are least likely to interact with others in a positive way. And yet, they are some of the loveliest kids you can come across. They ask for nothing. They don’t complain.
We do what we can to help, but we need more funding. We would love KidsCan jackets – quite a few of our students are cold – and we struggle with shoes. The kids haven’t got any, or they have dad’s gumboots on, or the shoes they have are their only pair of shoes and not the right colour for school. And if they don’t have the right shoes, they can’t go into the technology department because it's about health and safety. When I’m going op shopping myself on the weekend and I see a box of black shoes, I'll pick them up.
I want people to understand that there are others who genuinely are struggling, and they are struggling hard. This is a tough job – but I can go home and I don't have to worry about where the next meal is coming from. Others don’t have that. When I go to bed, I know that there are blankets and the house is going to be warm. I have a washing machine – some families with young babies have to use the laundromat.
So just give a quiet moment for someone out there who doesn’t have as much as you.” - Social worker, school waiting for KidsCan support.
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