How financial assistance helped one cancer patient overcome financial hardship
Michelle Bass, Legal and Financial Support Services Manager, shares how our Financial Assistance program helped a cancer patient receive assistance with her bills.
We received a referral for a woman in her 30s, who was married with two young children. She was diagnosed with breast cancer which had metastised to her brain. The family’s financial situation had been significantly impacted by the cancer diagnosis – our client was unable to work and her husband was taking leave to support her.
The couple explained to our financial counsellor that they could no longer face answering telephone calls from creditors and did not know what to do with the letters they were being sent about their overdue debts. They were in arrears on their mortgage and other loans and utilities and were worried they may lose their house.
Our financial counsellor negotiated with the client’s creditors, arranging for repayment plans on some debts, and working with the mortgage provider to ensure their house would not be foreclosed. The financial counsellor provided information and options to the client in relation to Centrelink payments they might be eligible for.
Our Financial Assistance program and partners provided the family with emergency financial relief, helping with the family’s utility bills and water rates to alleviate their immediate financial hardship and allow our client to focus on her health.”
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