New mum Michelle has spoken up about reaching out for help from a charity to urge those in need not to stay silent.
Speaking on Ryan Tubridy’s RTÉ Radio One show, the new mum described how she was unemployed and 12 weeks pregnant when her partner left her. Struggling to meet her mortgage repayments, heat her home and care for her son, Joshua, the mum-of-one turned to the St. Vincent de Paul for help.
"Unfortunately my partner left when I was twelve weeks pregnant which was daunting. I have something called GAD which is Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Basically I worry a lot and catastrophise things that are never going to happen. Thankfully I stayed well throughout my pregnancy with the support of Pieta House and a psychiatrist in Holles Street," she explained to Tubridy.
It was after Joshua’s birth, while she was waiting for her lone parent allowance to be approved, that she reached crisis point.
After asking her family for help because she couldn’t afford to buy formula, her boiler broke and she was left without heating in her home.
Thinking charities like the SVP were only for those much worse than her, it wasn’t until a neighbour pointed out that she was in a desperate situation did she finally approach them.
“And so I made that phone call. The following Monday a chap called Shane Burke arrived. Instantly all my worries were gone. They made the whole process so dignified as I explained my situation. At the time he was asking me how I was for bills and food but my main concern that week was the fact that I had no heating,” she said.
“The following week he said they would be able to help me fix the boiler. I had to borrow the balance from my mum and I will pay her back. But without St Vincent de Paul my house would still be an ice-box."
“Two weeks later Shane asked me how I was and things still hadn’t improved. I still hadn’t gotten my lone parents allowance. I told him I was really, really struggling. He arranged for Aldi food vouchers to be dropped to my house that week and a fuel delivery of coal,” she said.
Admitting the hardest part was making that first phone call, Michelle says she is “completely indebted to them” because without their help “Joshua would have been cold and hungry”.
If you are struggling at the moment, you can contact the SVP here.
