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<p><strong>Your support of the Vinnies Winter Appeal will ensure people like Abigail and Isabella have somewhere to turn to in times of need. Show your support at <a class="Hyperlink SCXW180085676 BCX0" href="https://www.vinnies.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.vinnies.org.au</a> or calling 13 18 12.&nbsp;</strong></p>

Holding on to each other 

Holding on to each other - Vinnies Winter Appeal 2025

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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="200135669" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{16}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">When Abigail and her younger sister Isabella look back on the events of the past few years, they could understandably dwell on what they didn’t have.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="1038687972" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{22}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">Support. Stability. A choice.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="861074997" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{28}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">Instead, the sisters are focused on how they became closer.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="280764385" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{34}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">“We had each other. That’s what got us through,” says Abigail.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="471842637" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{40}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">Growing up in a household where volatility was the norm, Abigail and Isabella had their lives upended when their parents separated, resulting in them moving to a different state with their mother.&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="150644779" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{48}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">Without any established family or friends to rely upon in new surroundings, the upheaval exacerbated existing anxiety for Isabella, who struggled to attend school or leave the house without becoming ill.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="319963170" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{54}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">Complicating matters was the instability of their living situation.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="1043532008" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{66}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW239998202 BCX0">“We were moving from house to house a lot. I think we lived in four houses in five years,” says Isabella.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="1189706427" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{72}"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW239998202 BCX0">As a consequence of so much uncertainty, compounded by their mother being unable to provide adequate care due to mental health challenges and dependence on prescription medication, the sisters were left with no choice but to live in their car.</span>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="Paragraph SCXW239998202 BCX0" paraid="1189706427" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{72}">“It was dehumanising – having to use public bathrooms."</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="495312598" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{110}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">“[We didn’t] have a kitchen, so we had to be strategic with what we ate and what food we bought.”</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="868381539" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{116}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">The experience of having no fixed address saw the sisters move back to live with their father in the hope of stability.&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1171351275" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{122}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">Unfortunately, what they returned to was an overcrowded apartment that offered no respite from the trauma they had endured.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="224799214" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{128}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">“We had to share a room which was awful… we're young adults who need privacy and space – it was very confining.”</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="593705420" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{134}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">Remaining in overcrowded conditions for several months before the untenability saw the sisters accepted for temporary accommodation, their housing application was subsequently approved in a fortuitous moment that put them in contact with Vinnies.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW180085676 BCX0">
<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="816648867" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{160}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">Gaining assistance from Christine, a Vinnies Support Coordinator, to furnish their empty unit and make it a home, the support offered by local Conference members also took into consideration personal needs such as dietary requirements.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="2058409126" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{178}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">“At the time [I] was going through a lot of digestive problems. They put together a gluten-free hamper which was so considerate,” says Abigail.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1826279820" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{184}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">This approach to meeting people’s individual needs is what defines the support provided by Vinnies, according to Christine.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="564519365" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{190}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">“We help people set up a new beginning and provide them with hope,” says Christine.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1943210603" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{196}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">“That's how I see our role – providing people with hope and being there for them in their darkest times and helping them come out of that place.”</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="37991039" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{202}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">Abigail and Isabella are just two of the thousands of people the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW supports every year when times get tough.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="2049137899" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{214}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">Our members and services are able to respond with a range of material, financial and emotional assistance, but this support relies upon people giving generously to the Vinnies Winter Appeal.</span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="967874742" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{220}"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0">It’s through funds raised from initiatives like the Winter Appeal that the Society has been able to provide the sisters with food, toiletries, vouchers to purchase household items as well as larger items including a fridge, beds and a washing machine.</span> <span class="NormalTextRun SCXW180085676 BCX0"></span>&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1189042663" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{226}">This support has been transformative in laying a foundation for the sisters to take control of the next chapter of their lives after years of not having a choice in their circumstances.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="25747537" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{232}">“They've got some goals and that's something they weren't able to have before. How do you have any goals when you've got nowhere to call home?” says Christine.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="2064793188" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{246}">As Abigail and Isabella look to make a home with each other where stability is the new norm, they are thankful for the role Vinnies has played in helping to break the cycle of hardship.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="99647658" paraeid="{7c69ba7f-ea5a-4a6f-ae15-fc510cf1089e}{252}">“We were treated with kindness and respect,” says Abigail.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1988402137" paraeid="{21d0cc1d-55a7-49a6-8501-beb98bc0b4f7}{7}">“Everything that we've been through has brought us closer too, because we've had to hold onto each other to get through,” says Isabella.&nbsp;</p>
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<p class="Paragraph SCXW180085676 BCX0" paraid="1482409593" paraeid="{21d0cc1d-55a7-49a6-8501-beb98bc0b4f7}{13}"><strong>Your support of the Vinnies Winter Appeal will ensure people like Abigail and Isabella have somewhere to turn to in times of need. Show your support at <a class="Hyperlink SCXW180085676 BCX0" href="https://www.vinnies.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.vinnies.org.au</a> or calling 13 18 12.&nbsp;</strong></p>
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