We help local people who are facing hard times

Leah’s * family was already isolating with COVID 19 and feeling anxious, tired and unwell when they reached out to our Family Works team.

Leah and her partner were determined to do the right thing for their community by isolating after testing positive for COVID. They both knew though, that her partner’s casual employment would mean their income for the fortnight would drop considerably. They went ahead anyway and ended up isolating longer than the seven days, due to continued sickness in the family.

Leah bravely called Family Works and the team connected her with several channels of support, including MSD funding, the Dunedin City Council Electricity Fund, general social work and our Family Works Foodbank.

Family Works has supported many local families facing similar struggles this year. COVID and the ongoing cost of living crisis mean that more and more people are reaching out to us.
If you would like to support our services, please see our donation page for options, including donating online.

* Name and image changed for privacy reasons

“When our family all got COVID, we had to isolate. This meant no work for my partner - resulting in a struggle to feed ourselves and pay our electricity and rent. Thankfully, Family Works was there for us. We called their helpful team for a food parcel and were given more support than we even knew we could ask for!

With their help we can breathe easier having had our electricity and rent paid for AND a food parcel delivered to our door! Our family is so thankful to the team at Presbyterian Support Otago. You made this difficult time stress free, so we could focus on our health and wellbeing. Thank you all so much!”

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28 November 2022

We help local people who are facing hard times

Articles from our Summer People Magazine 2022