A single mum's story
Donation protected
My Name is Sara, a single mum to 3 beautiful children Connor 9, Olivia-rose 8 & Jack who is 5.
Here is my story.
In 2015 after having my 3rd child Jack, I made the decision not to return to work as I already had a 3 & a 4 year old. Nursery fees were just too high and I found myself working just to keep them all in private nursery. A few months passed, not working wasn't something I was used to so, I decided to take a new career path that would allow me to be a devoted mum as well as a working mum. The career I chose was to become a Nail Artist/technician. I’d always loved the idea and though it would be a great working from home kind of job. I got all the training behind me in 2015, as of 2016 I then became self-employed, working from home around the needs of my children. It was the best decision I’d ever made.
Business continued to grow over the next couple of years. My two eldest had started school by that point which made working from home much easier. Life was good and I felt like I was doing all that I could to provide for my little family, however, it was all soon to change.
In 2019 we were evicted from our home after 8 years due to the owners selling. At this point I simply didn't know what to do. The house belonged to a family member which meant no tenancy was ever drawn up. I had low income and didn’t know where we were going to live. I had no choice but to declare us homeless and wait for the council to allocate us a home. This took a total of six month so me and the children moved in with my mum for a short while. It wasn't only my home; it was also our livelihood and I was uncertain of the future. 6 months later we were re-homed and was luckily enough to get a 3-bedroom home in a lovely area with a huge garden for the kids. We are slowly making it a home.
As a result of the move, I had two options close the business or become salon based. After all my hard work I decided salon based but, it wasn’t meant to be and with the children being so young, I struggled to make it through the first year but, I really tried. Instead, I rented a small room and business started to pick up again.
Then the dreaded COVID hit the UK. Since then, my little business has rapidly declined and without being able to invest, my business simply will not survive this pandemic. At this moment in time I feel like I’ve failed, failed my children and failed to keep the business strong.
Why not get a job you ask?? It’s not that easy for me, I’m what you might call “unemployable” and here’s why.
During the year 2018 my now 9-year-old son Connor, was diagnosed with ADHD, developmental delay and learning difficulties. 1 week later my beautiful Jack, who is now 5 was diagnosed with Low Functioning Autism & severe developmental delay. For 2 years prior to diagnosis my life revolved around fighting for them and ensuring their needs were met no matter what. It was such an uncertain time for us and I had much to learn. It was one of the most difficult times of my life, the future was uncertain. After further assessment it was confirmed that my Jack, has the metal age of a 12-month-old child and although progress would be made over the coming years Jack, is highly likely to need care for the rest of his life, he's not likely to ever live an independant life. Connors, ADHD is also a daily challenge, you never know what to expect. I have cried many times, I have blamed myself. I’ve asked why them. I’ve also told myself I can’t do this, I can’t cope, I can’t do this on my own. Now, I embrace there uniqueness, I’ve learnt about each condition and do everything in my power to support them and teach them the way of the world. My now 8-year-old Olivia is a bright, loving child who has shown resilience and understand throughout. It not be easy for her either . Yes, we still have really bad days, I still cry and feel I can’t cope or feel like I'm not doing enough, but I guess that's a normal way to feel. As a result, my children need a high level of care everyday of their lives, I'm their everything and they are mine.
I’m asking for your help to raise funds which will go towards renovating an outhouse in my garden to allow me to work from home again and rebuild. This will allow me to support my 3 lovely children, have something to call my own and have a place of escape but most importantly teach my children the importance of hard work, never giving up on your dreams, setting a good example and being the best role model, I can be.
To ask for help has not been easy, it's taken allot of courage. I’ve logged in and out of this fundraiser so many times before swallowing my pride.
Unfortunately, as my yearly profit isn’t above 50k, the government will offer no financial support.
Every little helps!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Here is my story.
In 2015 after having my 3rd child Jack, I made the decision not to return to work as I already had a 3 & a 4 year old. Nursery fees were just too high and I found myself working just to keep them all in private nursery. A few months passed, not working wasn't something I was used to so, I decided to take a new career path that would allow me to be a devoted mum as well as a working mum. The career I chose was to become a Nail Artist/technician. I’d always loved the idea and though it would be a great working from home kind of job. I got all the training behind me in 2015, as of 2016 I then became self-employed, working from home around the needs of my children. It was the best decision I’d ever made.
Business continued to grow over the next couple of years. My two eldest had started school by that point which made working from home much easier. Life was good and I felt like I was doing all that I could to provide for my little family, however, it was all soon to change.
In 2019 we were evicted from our home after 8 years due to the owners selling. At this point I simply didn't know what to do. The house belonged to a family member which meant no tenancy was ever drawn up. I had low income and didn’t know where we were going to live. I had no choice but to declare us homeless and wait for the council to allocate us a home. This took a total of six month so me and the children moved in with my mum for a short while. It wasn't only my home; it was also our livelihood and I was uncertain of the future. 6 months later we were re-homed and was luckily enough to get a 3-bedroom home in a lovely area with a huge garden for the kids. We are slowly making it a home.
As a result of the move, I had two options close the business or become salon based. After all my hard work I decided salon based but, it wasn’t meant to be and with the children being so young, I struggled to make it through the first year but, I really tried. Instead, I rented a small room and business started to pick up again.
Then the dreaded COVID hit the UK. Since then, my little business has rapidly declined and without being able to invest, my business simply will not survive this pandemic. At this moment in time I feel like I’ve failed, failed my children and failed to keep the business strong.
Why not get a job you ask?? It’s not that easy for me, I’m what you might call “unemployable” and here’s why.
During the year 2018 my now 9-year-old son Connor, was diagnosed with ADHD, developmental delay and learning difficulties. 1 week later my beautiful Jack, who is now 5 was diagnosed with Low Functioning Autism & severe developmental delay. For 2 years prior to diagnosis my life revolved around fighting for them and ensuring their needs were met no matter what. It was such an uncertain time for us and I had much to learn. It was one of the most difficult times of my life, the future was uncertain. After further assessment it was confirmed that my Jack, has the metal age of a 12-month-old child and although progress would be made over the coming years Jack, is highly likely to need care for the rest of his life, he's not likely to ever live an independant life. Connors, ADHD is also a daily challenge, you never know what to expect. I have cried many times, I have blamed myself. I’ve asked why them. I’ve also told myself I can’t do this, I can’t cope, I can’t do this on my own. Now, I embrace there uniqueness, I’ve learnt about each condition and do everything in my power to support them and teach them the way of the world. My now 8-year-old Olivia is a bright, loving child who has shown resilience and understand throughout. It not be easy for her either . Yes, we still have really bad days, I still cry and feel I can’t cope or feel like I'm not doing enough, but I guess that's a normal way to feel. As a result, my children need a high level of care everyday of their lives, I'm their everything and they are mine.
I’m asking for your help to raise funds which will go towards renovating an outhouse in my garden to allow me to work from home again and rebuild. This will allow me to support my 3 lovely children, have something to call my own and have a place of escape but most importantly teach my children the importance of hard work, never giving up on your dreams, setting a good example and being the best role model, I can be.
To ask for help has not been easy, it's taken allot of courage. I’ve logged in and out of this fundraiser so many times before swallowing my pride.
Unfortunately, as my yearly profit isn’t above 50k, the government will offer no financial support.
Every little helps!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Organizer
Sara Wilfred
Organizer
