By ANEEKA SIMONIS
WITHOUT the kindness of a near stranger, a Pakenham mum is almost certain she and her four kids would be living out of their car today.
Emma Cooper, 26, at real risk of homeless in recent weeks recalled the moment she broke down in tears and embraced her now landlord, who took a chance on her family.
“I didn’t know him. But I just hugged him and told him, you don’t know what you have done for us,” Emma recounted the moment the man approved their tenancy of his Pakenham home on Sunday 28 February.
“There were about 10 applications for the house, and they were all a lot better off than us. But he (the landlord) said to me ‘It’s not all about money’. He said he had shown his wife the Gazette article written about our struggle, and she said ‘we have to give them the house’.”
Pakenham parents Emma and Damian and their kids Jai, 7, Rubi, 5, Blayde, 4, and Nate, 16 months, were sent into a complete tailspin last money after being served with a rental eviction notice.
A series of tragic misfortunes stripped the struggling family of all their savings needed for their new bond, triggering the suspension of their Centrelink payments.
Their car was destroyed in a fiery blaze, their other car was in need of urgent repair and Damian’s work had dried up in a tight, devastating period of time which sometimes left them with just $50 to put food on the table each night.
But today, Emma breathes a sigh of relief in her new, six-bedroom home in Pakenham.
She does so knowing she may not have gotten there without the help of the local community, who after reading her story pitched in to offer cooked meals, payment of bills and clothing for her children.
A Pakenham mum who knew the trials of homelessness even offered up her caravan to the family, while the 4Cs crisis centre had their Pakenham home on hold for the family to move in to.
It shows the dire state the family were in in the eyes of the local welfare organisation, with the emergency crisis home ordinarily only offered up to single-parent families, mostly women.
“Life is getting to be very settled now,” Emma said, holding baby Nate.
“I don’t think I have stopped smiling all week.
“For the first time ever, Rubi has her own room. And it’s pink. She’s stoked.
“The kids have a huge backyard. As soon as they get home, they run out there and play for hours.”
Emma laughed as she recalled the times seeing her youngest, Nate, whizz around in a circle with his hands outstretched – in complete awe of the new space he and his family have in their new home.
The family have security at the home for a year, with the property due to be bulldozed to make way for a series of units.
However, Emma said her landlord was willing to keep them on in one of the units or one of his other properties in Officer and Pakenham after that time.
It was a huge relief for the family who feared moving would mean pulling their older kids out of Pakenham Springs Primary School.
But for now, the family are looking on to brighter things.
Rubi will celebrate her sixth birthday at the home with school friends in weeks to come.
Emma said the family had always moved around that time, meaning parties had been off the agenda.
Damian will also soon become a fully qualified concreter, and Emma hopes to get back into her youth work studies now the stress has been lifted from her shoulders.
“We are in heaven,” she said.
