Financial stress and housing insecurity have gripped much of Rudi’s life.
“I have been homeless 3 times, once with a 10-year-old,” she shares.
“Not knowing where your kid is going to sleep is just … [my daughter] doesn’t remember how scared her grandmother and I were.”
Rudi, like 1 in 5 Australian households, has been forced to skip meals, sometimes entire days of eating, just to get by.
Despite years of hardship, food has remained central to her life, shaped by an early career as a chef, where she learned to stretch limited ingredients into nourishing meals.
“My love language has always been food,” she says.
At 57, Rudi was forced to give up work due to a number of complex health issues. Now 66, she relies on government support payments which barely cover her basic needs.
After years of being treated poorly by support services, Rudi was sceptical when her support worker suggested she visit Uniting in Prahran.
“Asking for help is hard,” she shares. “[In the past] when I needed help it wasn’t there. I was treated as an inconvenience, a non-entity.”
Still, Rudi decided to give Uniting a chance.
“I had an interview, and they took me through the food pantry, and it was a totally different experience,” she says.
A year on, Uniting has supported Rudi with food relief, community meals and financial advice, support that has made a meaningful difference in her life.
“The thing I like the most about Uniting is how welcoming they are,” she says.
For Rudi, it’s not just the practical support that stands out, it is the way she has been treated.
“Uniting have just been amazing,” she shares. “They’ve been fantastic. They really have.”
Register now to collect food for people and their families like Rudi.
