The Struggle

A wrong turn in life had cost him time that could have otherwise spent taking care of his family and bringing up his 2 young children aged 3 and 1. Thomas, 61 years old, was working as a chef prior to his incarceration for drug-related offences. During his time spent in the halfway house, Thomas had undergone counselling by his pastor and constantly reflected on the things that went wrong in his life and how his family and children have suffered as a result of his wrongdoing. Now that he is out, he hopes to be a responsible husband to his wife and father to his children to repay them.

Help Needed – Give Hope

Breaking away from drugs had seemed daunting to the 61-year-old in the past, but Thomas is grateful for the strong support from the halfway house and his family for not giving up on him.

Since his discharge in July, Thomas has started working on improving himself and has recently returned to his previous workplace on 16 July, with an expected gross pay of $10/hour. He is now working as a chef but only works 5 hours a day, 5 days a week due to the constant swelling of his legs. Despite the pain from the swell that arises from the swelling due to his diabetes, Thomas told us he is determined not to go back to his old ways after seeing how his wife was suddenly forced to take on the role of being the family’s sole breadwinner to work as a beer promoter when he was away, even as she is struggling with her caregiving duties. The family is currently also struggling to repay their debts and living arrears that had accumulated while Thomas was being put away.

Financial Breakdown

It’s never easy acknowledging your mistake and wanting to make a change for the better, and we applaud Thomas’ courage for taking the first step! What may seem like a small one-room flat is the home to someone who had wished for a place to call his own. Being gainfully employed and with one issue less to worry about, Thomas feels that he has more things to look forward to in his life as he continues to work hard at his job!

Ray of Hope would like to raise $1,160 to defray the family’s living expenses ($290 x 4 months) while Thomas settles in on his new job.

*Thomas is currently in the midst of applying for public assistance.