| I’ve moved from the Gold Coast to help residents as a volunteer in the newly opened Transformations* Women’s House. This is my story. I hope, after reading it, you will be inspired to help this program that has helped so many — like me — in the community. |
| “You are doing to your kids what our Mum did to us” When my sister said that to me, memories of a childhood spent watching my mother drink herself to ruin came flooding back. I grew up in Scotland with my five brothers and sisters, and had a happy childhood. That was until I was 11, when my Dad left my Mum for her friend. Mum was devastated. She was left with us kids, a great sadness and not much else. We had no money for food or clothes or the bills. It was a very, very hard time for all of us, and Mum started drinking to ease her pain. It broke my heart to see her drink more and more. But it also made me angry. Why was she doing this when she had us to look after? I’m going to ask for your help to stop what comes next — and I’ll tell you how the kind of help you’ll bring saved me. |
| More than once, our power was disconnected — and the neighbors noticed. “Were you all off to bed early in your house Karen? All the lights were off at 6”. Even worse were her out of control drunken nights when she would get carried home from our neighbors house. Every time, the next day at school everyone would be talking about how loud she was, and I was embarrassed. On Boxing Day, when I was 13, Mum was found dead on the street, in the snow. She had died of hypothermia after a long binge. Even after the heartache and embarrassment, it was devastating. I grew up, and married an army man. We came to Australia, and I had three children in three years — two girls and a boy. But when he left me for someone else, Mum’s history started repeating itself. I was left alone with three small children, and a terrible sense of failure. I started to drink to cope and feel better. I could see what was happening, yet I couldn’t seem to stop. Which is why your help today is so urgently needed for someone going through the same agony I was. |
| Years went by and just like my Mum, my drinking went out of control. I drank so much that one day at the local pool I had a seizure and was announced dead at the scene. Then a miracle happened, and my heart started beating again. Doctors were flabbergasted that I managed to come back at all, never mind that I didn’t have brain damage. This was it. This was the wakeup call. I needed help. This was the pathway that led me to Transformations. The Transformations program saved my life — because of someone like you. I moved through the four stage, 12-month program and started to piece my life together. Transformations gave me strength and courage to look within myself and learn to heal all the hurt and sadness from my childhood. I still have so much grief and anger from mum’s illness and her death — and when history repeated itself, I went into a learned behavior of how to cope and survive. Totally dysfunctional, but it’s all I had. Slowly but surely, I saw the patterns that kept me as a victim instead of a survivor. I learned to build on my strengths, and not dwell in my past. It was hard going, but it worked for me. I finished the Transformations program in 2016. Now I volunteer for the Tassie program as a house supervisor. The truth is, right here, in your capital city, I see many women following in my path. Together with your donation today, we can speak grace into their stories. (Some of which would truly make your hair curl.) To meet the growing need right here in Hobart, Pathways Tasmania needs to open more beds for people me —maybe someone you know. Transformations gave my children their mother back, my siblings got their sister back and I have my life back — and my future. Your donation today will help make sure we can do that, so no one misses the miracle of Transformations. |
| Years went by and just like my Mum, my drinking went out of control. I drank so much that one day at the local pool I had a seizure and was announced dead at the scene. Then a miracle happened, and my heart started beating again. Doctors were flabbergasted that I managed to come back at all, never mind that I didn’t have brain damage. This was it. This was the wakeup call. I needed help. This was the pathway that led me to Transformations. The Transformations program saved my life — because of someone like you. I moved through the four stage, 12-month program and started to piece my life together. Transformations gave me strength and courage to look within myself and learn to heal all the hurt and sadness from my childhood. I still have so much grief and anger from mum’s illness and her death — and when history repeated itself, I went into a learned behavior of how to cope and survive. Totally dysfunctional, but it’s all I had. Slowly but surely, I saw the patterns that kept me as a victim instead of a survivor. I learned to build on my strengths, and not dwell in my past. It was hard going, but it worked for me. I finished the Transformations program in 2016. Now I volunteer for the Tassie program as a house supervisor. The truth is, right here, in your capital city, I see many women following in my path. Together with your donation today, we can speak grace into their stories. (Some of which would truly make your hair curl.) To meet the growing need right here in Hobart, Pathways Tasmania needs to open more beds for people me —maybe someone you know. Transformations gave my children their mother back, my siblings got their sister back and I have my life back — and my future. Your donation today will help make sure we can do that, so no one misses the miracle of Transformations. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and thank you in advance for your help today. Yours in gratitude, Karen Corscadden House Supervisor Transformations Hobart. PS: Christmas can be a terrible time for the people who need help and support. These are people we walk past every day, and it’s a good time to remember that behind every face there is a story. And at Pathways, every story matters. Please, donate what you can today. * Transformations in Hobart is a joint venture between Pathways Tasmania, Transformations Australia and Velocity Church Moonah. Your donation today will support Pathways Tasmania. Thank You! |