Coming through the door
Evangeline almost didn’t come through the door.
A friend had been gently encouraging her to visit Visionwest. She remembers they kept saying, “Even if you just want to talk to someone, go.”
But Evangeline was unconvinced. She felt she should be about to manage as a mum on her own. Asking for help felt like admitting failure. The idea of needing help came with a sense of shame.
In the end, it was something very practical that brought her in. Kai.
Evangeline recalls those early visits,
“I came for a food parcel and left straight away. Just in and out. Kind of hiding.”
At the time, life felt like an endless cycle of getting through the day. As a single mother of five, every decision was made with her children in mind. She did everything she could to keep them fed, clothed and safe, even when she was exhausted and running on empty.
In her words, “I wasn’t doing too well. I was tired. Sick and tired. And I’d think, well, the kids are fed and clothed, so I’ve done enough.”
When survival isn’t enough
But something wasn’t sitting right. Her daughters, once confident and full of energy, began pulling back.
“They were watching me. And I wasn’t doing anything. That’s when I thought, no. Do something.”
The financial pressure was constant. Even small things weren’t an option, like stopping at the shop for an ice block after school.
She recalls, “I’d have to say no, because I needed to buy bread. I was always honest with my kids about our situation, but I carried a lot of guilt. They didn’t need to carry that much on their shoulders.”
When Evangeline first came to Visionwest, she planned to stay invisible. Get what she needed. Then leave. But on one visit, a staff member stopped and sat with her. Asked how she was. Really listened.
“I started allowing people to talk to me,” she says. “And I allowed myself to be humble enough to take the help that was there.”
She began to stop rushing out the door.
“I didn’t leave hiding anymore.”
Finding her footing again
As conversations continued, Evangeline was introduced to Visionwest’s Money Mentors service. At first, she wasn’t sure what to expect. What she found was very different from being told what to do.
She says, “I was in debt, but they made me feel in control.”
“They helped, but they made sure it was me doing the sorting out. That gave me confidence to think, I can do this.”
For the first time in a long while, Evangeline felt steady enough to lift her head and start thinking beyond the immediate crisis. She began attending community lunches and connecting with others. She enrolled in Te Reo Māori classes and business administration study.
She remembers, “Seeing the confidence of the workers, hearing where they started, it was so encouraging. It made me realise it’s not over.”
That change really affected Evangeline and flowed on to her kids.
“When I started standing taller, my girls started standing back up as well. They look to me.”
Even small comments meant a lot.
“They’d say, ‘Mum, you’re looking smarter, sounding smarter.’ And I’d think, yes — because I am.”
A future filled with hope
Today, Evangeline speaks with quiet confidence about the future. She wants to graduate. She wants her children to see that setbacks don’t define the rest of your life.
She says, “I left school early. But I want to show my babies that nothing is over.”
“When life doesn’t go the way you planned, it’s not the end.”
When Evangeline talks about Visionwest now, she doesn’t list programmes or services. She talks about how it feels to walk through the door.
“It’s family. A place where you’re welcome. Where you can stand up again.”
For Evangeline, the biggest change isn’t just financial stability or new skills. It’s dignity. Belonging. The freedom to ask for help without shame.
“I’m stronger. My babies are stronger. And now we see a future filled with hope.”
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Learn more about our Money Mentors service on our website.
https://visionwest.org.nz/money-mentors/