Page 40 - Unfair To Care 2024 - Who Cares Wins

“A LIFELINE”
WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HAPPY AND EXCITING TIME FOR SANDRA AND HER FAMILY, SUDDENLY BECAME AN INCREDIBLY STRESSFUL ONE. THAT’S WHEN SHE LOOKED TO THE CHARITY FOR SUPPORT.
SECTION 6: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
SANDRA FOY IS A SUPPORT WORKER AT COMMUNITY INTEGRATED CARE, WORKING AT A SERVICE IN EDINBURGH, HOME TO FIVE PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AND PHYSICAL SUPPORT NEEDS.
Like many people working within social care, low pay means Sandra’s wages just about cover her family’s monthly outgoings, and she can’t build up a pot of savings for a rainy day. So, when one of Sandra’s beloved family dogs fell ill, just as she was about to move house, she didn’t know where to turn.
Sandra says, “It was already an expensive month with our move, and finances were feeling tight. So, when Watson became unwell and needed urgent care, and we were faced with a huge, unexpected vet bill, we were stuck.”
What should have been a happy and exciting time for Sandra and her family, suddenly became an incredibly stressful
one. That’s when she looked to the charity for support.
“I remembered getting an email from our CEO, Jim Kane, outlining all the options for financial support that the charity could offer to colleagues. One of them was something called Salary Finance, where you could access an advance on your wages. I’d used something similar once before
in a previous role and so I went to find out more.”
“It was so simple to log into the platform and see how much I could advance on my wages until the next month. I requested a couple of hundred pounds and it was in my account by the end of the next day. Unlike other payday loan schemes, there were no extortionate fees or interest to pay on top. It meant that I could spread out the costs of moving and the bills and give myself some breathing space. It was a real lifeline to me and my family.”
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