An Independent Woman

Becks never needed anything from anyone. Sure, life wasn’t always easy, but Becks had it covered. She worked hard. She saved where she could. And she NEVER asked for help from anyone.

A single mum, Becks was an expert at balancing everything life threw at her. And she had dreams! She had goals in her life, and knew she had the intelligence and drive to make them a reality. With her eyes set on a legal career, Becks put herself through law school. It meant long nights of studying after long days of balancing class and family. She was determined to never have to pay back a student loan, so tightened her budget to pay for her legal training on her own.

She succeeded — but at a cost she had not anticipated. The years of strain on her budget left her with a financial house of cards that imploded when life hit her with some unexpected expenses. With the legal career she had always dreamed of within her grasp, Becks was finally forced to do the one thing she said she would never do. She asked for help.

Becks came into Kairos looking for help for food for her family. Kairos saw that what she actually needed was help getting some stability back into her budget. Kairos referred her to the budgeting service at Compassion Trust, who helped her to get her finances back on track.

The funny thing with working at Kairos is that, if we are effective in doing what we set out to do, we don’t get much in the way of repeat customers. Our objective is to help people so that they don’t need us anymore. We don’t see Becks anymore, but through our contacts at Compassion Trust, we have learned that she is doing well and back in control of her life and finances, and immensely grateful for the help that was there when she needed it.

At Kairos, we recognise that giving out free food doesn’t really do all that much. Our strength comes in listening to the people who come in through those doors, to find out what they really need and how those needs can best be addressed through our networks. It’s a hand-up; not a hand-out.

Based on actual events. Details changed for privacy.