Accessing the right support can be challenging for people facing financial hardship, family violence, health concerns, housing or employment issues.
To ease the burden, we’ve partnered with community agencies, government, utilities, and financial service providers to develop the CareRing program.
CareRing supports the customers of Yarra Valley Water, NAB, ANZ, Suncorp, Jemena, Energy Australia, and Origin Energy. Our partners refer eligible customers to CareRing to better assess and respond to their needs. Issues often come to light when a customer is struggling to pay a bill or make repayments due to financial hardship.
Since its inception in 2014, CareRing has helped over 8,000 people across Australia, like Leo. Leo was unemployed and living in his car, when he was referred to CareRing by one of his service providers.
Leo owned his own business and had never been in financial hardship. He unexpectedly experienced a downturn in work and was ultimately forced to close his business, leaving him without an income.
Leo sold his investment property to improve his cashflow, but nine months later and still without work, used the last of his savings to pay for family funerals. Leo was then forced to sell his home to stay afloat. One year after his business closed, when referred to CareRing, Leo was unemployed and living in his car. One of our client support team organised emergency relief, liaised with a Centrelink social worker to provide payments and arranged a financial counselling appointment for Leo. We also liaised with a partner agency regarding housing options for Leo.
The CareRing team remained in contact with Leo and the other supporting agencies until his life had stabilised. Leo found housing and secured employment, which enabled him to start rebuilding his life.
