Vinnies to the rescue :)

Firstly, I would very much like to send out a big thank you to everyone in Australia who has donated and supported St Vincent De Paul's. They came to our rescue big time today.

So after the meeting with the social worker last week I followed her advice to seek help from charity during this particularly difficult time. We're still in the process of David's super rollover to Australian Super after which he can apply for severe financial hardship through them of $10,000 (minus SSJoe's heavy lifting $2,200 in tax). This stuff doesn't get done overnight, even with all the online stuff available. This is after HESTA knocked him back over a ridiculous technicality of their own invention.

We now find ourselves in rather dire straights due to HESTA knocking him back and the delay in sorting it all out through Australian Super. David has put the application in for the switch to the Carers Payment pension from the unsurvivable Newstart allowance. Again it takes time. Currently the credit card is maxed out (again) and we've no money apart from about the $100 left on it. The next money we get will be David's Carers Allowance on Wednesday of $120. After that it's David's Newstart Tuesday next week, which will mostly have to go on the $380 "affordable" rent as we're spending that now to survive. The rent is two days late doing it that way but that's OK. The day after that is my pension which goes on that weeks rent and the rest on living until David's Newstart again pays the second weeks rent. And on like that until his Super money comes. 

In short at present we're completely fucked. Fuck all food in the house. No money for the 1 month late electricity bill or the monthly Telstra phone bill. Usually that's not much but as we have no credit on the mobiles we have had to use the home phone to call people. So this month it's over $80. But yeah, still have to pay that $2,200 in tax for SSJoe :s  Heavy lifting indeed (although we're supposed to be able to get that back at the end of the financial year in July).

Anyway I go in there and the receptionist is this lovely Asian lady, all friendly and all. Nothing like the look of suspicion that I got from BGF. I give her the paperwork (bills, Centrelink statement of income, both our bank accounts with nothing left in them) and presently am ushered into an office with a very friendly looking lady. She's wanting to help, not suspicious of my intent. I am not a suspect as I was at BGF, I am a person in genuine need. The difference is like night and day.

She starts going through everything methodically. The electricity bill, although small at about $200, we simply can't pay and it's nearly due again after me getting a one month extension. She gives a $100 voucher for it that I pay at the Post Office, and arranges with a Centrelink form for an amount to be taken out of my pension each fortnight to go towards the next one, about $50 a fortnight. I sign the papers and that's sorted.

The phone bill again isn't much at about $80 but we just don't have the money, and it's a monthly bill nearly due. She gives a $50 voucher for that, and arranges a $20 a fortnight deduction out of my pension for that. This one is mailed and she puts it into a paid envelope for me to put in the post box. Sorted.

Then she gets to the matter of food. Asks how much food we have at home. At a rough guess I say a couple of days, depending on what exactly we survive on. She suggests a hamper to take home and I agree. She checks a list of what we need asking me as she goes. With everything else sorted out I go and wait outside whilst she gets the hamper together. I was expecting a few cans of tinned food, plain label brand.

Presently she comes through another door. With a fuckin shopping trolly FFS. I'm amazed. Two big bags full of food, all of it quality stuff. Non perishables in tins but other stuff too like biscuits and even some chocolates. I say I can't thank you enough, she's very happy to help. I walk out of there with these two bags full of stuff weighted down as I plod to the bus stop. Bring it all home and David is like WTF?

So thank you again Australia. It's terrible that we're in this situation and terrible that the gov has neglected us to this point having to get help from charity to survive this very bad patch. But I don't feel at all neglected by my fellow Australians after today. You came through when the gov didn't care.

Our gov are assholes, but Australians aren't. It's almost criminal that our gov is so unrepresentative of who we are as a people and as a society.