When you have nothing, it’s hard to make something

One of the most heart-warming stories of Vinnies Victoria’s ‘good works’ in 2020 came in the shape of a gorgeous bundle of baby joy called Alek, whose parents were living in a tent when Vinnies first met them.

In March, just as the Covid-19 crisis began to bite, Ian and Sheila Hardy, two Vinnies volunteers in regional Victoria, were advised that a couple were living in a local park so they went to see if they could help. “When the woman came out of the tent and we saw she was pregnant, I thought ‘We’re not leaving her here. We’ve got to do something’,” says Ian.

The couple were Dallas, 26, and Karryn, 30, who met early in 2019, but had nowhere to live so had been couch-surfing with friends. After a series of incidents in which the people with whom they were staying became threatening, they decided that living in the tent was a safer alternative. They had been there for a month, which Dallas says, “felt like a lifetime”.

Vinnies immediately moved Dallas and Karryn into a motel for a few days, then a caravan that had been donated after the bushfires, and provided them with food and essentials. Amazingly, Ian then received a call out of the blue from a Vincentian who had a vacant house in the area that he wanted to offer to anyone in need at the modest rate of $100 per week.

Dallas and Karryn were assisted by Vinnies to move into the house and also provided with furniture and bedding. The icing on the cake was getting their dog, DJ, back after they had been forced to rehome him.

“It was so hard to let him go, but after seeing how well we were doing in our own home, his new family decided it was the right thing to give DJ back.” Then the cherry on top arrived – beautiful baby Alek in July. “He’s adorable,” says Dallas.

Karryn and Dallas can barely put their gratitude to Vinnies into words.

“When you’ve got nothing, it’s hard to make something out of it. Having Ian and Sheila believe in us when no-one else did, with no judgment, was a huge step in the right direction. We haven’t looked back,” says Karryn.

Dallas has recently had work concreting and since then, the couple have had enough money to buy extra furniture. “The house is fantastic and really peaceful,” says Karryn.

Karryn has two older sons who are living with their dad and it is her hope now that they will be able to stay with her again. The pair have also re-established ties to their families.

“Through the help and support of our Vinnies family, we are so blessed to have the opportunity to work on our relationships with our own families,” says Karryn.