Help us

Without your help, we could not provide much-needed support to our village of carers while they take on one of the most important roles of their lives.

Unfortunately, requests for help are becoming more frequent as the cost of living hits many hard. Sadly, the number of children needing a safe and nurturing home continues to rise, which means demand on our foster care service is now greater than ever before.

And carers are facing difficulty affording to pay for things like household repairs, medical expenses, school fees, childcare, and other out-of-pocket expenses related to caring for a child or young person.

Throughout the year, OzChild must fill gaps in carer reimbursements provided for those caring for our most vulnerable, carers like Dianne*, who works tirelessly, putting the needs of the children she cares for above her own to provide a safe and loving home for them.

Dianne opened her heart and home to two children, Emma* and Steph* when they were just infants. Now 15 and 14 years old, the girls remain under Dianne’s permanent care. After all these years, Dianne cares for these two kids like they are her own.

I continue to be overwhelmed by the commitment of OzChild carers and the kindness of the wider community. The generosity of people like you makes it possible for us to give carers like Dianne extra help when they need it most.

At the age of 12, Dianne’s eldest, Emma was diagnosed with extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which requires constant attention and support. The OCD impacts her ability to go to school, run errands or even care for herself.

To add to that pressure, Dianne endured another heartbreaking moment when Steph was diagnosed with dyslexia last year. Steph was having trouble reading and writing, and it was affecting her ability to learn in school.

Despite facing numerous challenges in her role as a carer, Dianne’s dedication, and commitment to the well-being of these children has not wavered, even for a second.

Dianne was working shift work as a nurse, and had a second job as a maternal and child health nurse. As Emma and Steph got older the shift work got harder to manage. Getting the girls to school was difficult, even before things fell apart for Emma, so Dianne made the difficult decision to take carers leave so she could devote all her time and energy to helping them through these challenging times.

This meant Dianne had no source of income and struggled to pay for essential repairs to the house. 

Adding to the family’s worries, Dianne’s backyard fence was falling to pieces. Despite reaching out to her neighbours for help to share the cost of fixing the fence, she has not received any assistance. Without a secure fence, she was concerned for the safety of the children.

Sadly, Dianne’s circumstances are not unique, those caring for our most vulnerable face some of the greatest challenges and need someone to care about them.

Thanks to the generosity of OzChild supporters, we were able to provide Dianne with much-needed financial support to help cover the costs of repairing the fence and replastering and painting the house walls.

When you are not working so you can give all your attention to children who are struggling to find their place in the world, not having to worry about things like this is a godsend.

Helping Dianne cover these expenses has provided a huge weight off her shoulders and meant the children in her care could live in a safe environment.

You may already know, OzChild receives government funding to deliver programs designed to keep children and young people safe and families together.

But the funding we receive only covers the most basic costs associated with delivering these specialised programs. When it comes to supporting the additional needs of families, we rely on the generosity of people like you.

Please call us today on 03 9695 2237 to donate over the phone or click here to make a donation securely online. 

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of this family