Clara's Story

‘It helped me realise that somebody is actually on my side and that I am doing the right thing. I am providing for my children.’  

Clara* is a mother of three who was forced to stop working when her husband became ill. Things started to spiral and eventually her marriage got into trouble, which led to a difficult divorce. This had a huge financial and emotional impact on the lives of Clara and her children.

As part of the divorce, Clara had to sell the family home and move her family away from the area her children grew up in. As a temporary measure, Clara rented a property to keep a roof over her family’s head but paying for this was eating away at her savings.

Clara wanted to maintain some normality for her children and was worried about the effect it was having on all her children but especially her son who had just started secondary school. He needed bus passes to travel what was now a long distance to school.

Before the divorce, Clara’s son was outgoing and very sporty. One day, however, he came home from school and said he couldn't do it anymore, withdrew into himself and didn't want to leave the house. His school were also very worried about him and “all sorts of things were going wrong”.

Clara was struggling. She said: “My son kind of dropped out of life in a way and isolated himself. Life became very hard for me and the children very quickly, and we are away from family so very isolated. We had to move out of our local area where we had a lot of friends.’’

Her limited income was spent on essentials and the additional cost of the relocation. So she had little money to spend on sporting activities that would help her son to settle into life in his new area.

Clara realised, ‘This is my situation and I’m going to have to ask for help.’

Turn2us Elizabeth Finn Fund grant

Following her application for financial help to Turn2us, Clara was awarded a £1,500 grant from the Turn2us Elizabeth Finn Fund.

The grant helped to pay for her son to attend a football club. This helped him to get back out and live his life again. The grant also helped to pay for school uniform and school books. She was also able to pay for specialist educational support for her son who had fallen behind as a result of the problems he had been having.

“That was key to him having confidence in school and realising that he is as clever as the other kids", she said. "Because he lost his voice and reverted into himself for over a year.”

The grant has also given Clara greater flexibility. It enables her to send her children to an after-school club so she can go to job interviews after work or research a job in the library.

It is important for Clara that her children live a good life, despite the turmoil they have been through, so that they can have a good childhood.

“When I received the grant from Turn2us, I just felt like I was doing the right thing. I felt like I was getting into a spiral. Now I can take the time to look for jobs and give my children some of the independence they need.”

Supporting families

At Turn2us, we support lots of families trying to get back on track following a life-changing event. People like Clara who want to ensure her children lead as fulfilled childhood as possible.

Thank you

It is because of support from people like you that we are able to help families like Clara’s. So, thank you very much for being part of the Turn2us family.

You can continue to help more families like Clara’s by making a donation to Turn2us now.

*Names have been changed for confidentiality reasons and the image is not of Clara and her son.