Hi, my name is Mia. I’m a single mother to two beautiful girls aged 5 and 6, and I have been raising them completely alone for the past 5 years. Despite that never being the plan, life has had other plans.

Being a single parent without support has been incredibly challenging, but my daughters are my entire world and I have always pushed myself to keep going and give them the best life I possibly can.

Over the past few years I worked extremely hard to improve our lives. While studying for my degree, I slowly paid for driving lessons and after three years of determination I finally passed my driving test. Getting my licence felt like a huge step forward for me and my girls.

Using my student finance, I then managed to buy my first car — something that meant independence, stability, and the ability to get to work and provide for my children.

Sadly, only five months later, everything changed. My car was severely damaged after hitting an extremely dangerous pothole and it was written off. Losing my car had a huge impact on our lives.

Without a vehicle, commuting to my job became almost impossible. The journey was over two hours each way, and as a single parent with young children it simply wasn’t sustainable. Eventually I had no choice but to leave my job.

I have recently managed to secure a new job, which I am incredibly grateful for, but it is not a high-paying position and saving for another car while covering all the costs of raising two children alone is proving extremely difficult.

Having a reliable car again would completely change our lives. It would allow me to work, support my girls properly, and rebuild the stability that we lost.

I am someone who always tries to do everything on my own, but right now I am asking for help so I can get back on my feet for the sake of my children.

Any support, no matter how small, would mean the world to us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story.