Brett finds his purpose at Hope House
Brett recently paid off a Salvos NILS loan in full and today works as a Hope House volunteer (Credit: Photo courtesy of Major Joy Wilson).
Brett was in a bad state last year – depressed, anxious and caught for driving his car under the influence. His solicitor was sure Brett faced prison.
But he never imagined that in 18 months Brett’s life would turn around completely.
After a friend told him about The Salvation Army’s Hope House in Gunnedah, Brett nervously contacted founder and manager Major Joy Wilson. She suggested Brett would benefit from the positive lifestyle program.
“I successfully completed the 10-week program, which made me more aware of my life decisions in a positive way,” says Brett.
Brett’s transformation continued as he started breaking off contact with friends who were proving a bad influence. Joy encouraged him to join a traffic offenders Program at the PCYC in Gunnedah, which Brett successfully completed.
Brett was then offered a place on the Hope House work development program.
“I gladly accepted and successfully completed, reducing my fine of almost $3,000, and again had a huge sense of achievement,” he says.
Then the time came for Brett to face court.
“Because I had previous convictions, my solicitor indicated this time I would have to do jail time,” he says.
“That morning, Hope House personnel were at Court providing morning tea for those having to appear before the magistrate. I was one of them and I approached Joy and asked if she could pray for me.
“I was incredibly anxious and appeared before the magistrate and she had a copy of what I had been able to achieve. The magistrate smiled and said ‘you’ve been well behaved and achieved everything I had been asked to do’. I was given the minimum penalty of 200 hours of community service and three years loss of licence – and no fine.”
After working off his community service hours at Hope House, Brett stayed on and now manages the community garden and grounds of Hope House as a volunteer. According to Brett, each program, each challenge and each achievement has built further confidence and helped him find more stability.
Recently, he faced a financial crisis and again, with help from the Salvos was able to face and overcome another obstacle.
He explains, “My washing machine blew up and the cost of going to the laundromat was close to $20.00 for a wash and dry. My flatmate had just moved out and I was left paying for rent and power on my own. Major Joy suggested a Salvos no-interest loan (NILS).
“I received my loan and began paying just over $21.00 per fortnight, which came out of my Centrelink payments."
“I’ve just received my letter of completion, which means I repaid my loan back in full. Now I encourage other people to look at a NILS loan before they go and get easy money from money lenders, which ultimately ends up costing double or more for an item.”
For Brett, the support and care from Hope House has brought a sense of hope and purpose. As a volunteer with the service, he says, “I wear the Salvation Army Hope House t-shirt with pride!”
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