Flood Appeal for NSW Solo Parent Families who have Lost Their Homes

Solo parent families are a vulnerable group of the countless people severely impacted by the NSW floods. Many lived in the flood disaster zone as it offered affordable housing. Many have lost everything and are now homeless. They have no back-up options. They are trying to juggle caring for their traumatised children and recovering what was their home in the face of incomprehensibly widespread destruction. The experiences they share here are harrowing. Some cannot return home - their house is uninhabitable. With the housing crisis in the Northern Rivers already rife, the hopelessness, loss and grief of these solo parents and children is palpable.

Your support is so very needed to help this vulnerable demographic rebuild their lives. Solo parents cannot do it all and be it all, they need community to help restart their life.

The stories of survival of these solo parent families who escaped the floods are being shared here, in UPDATES. To read these heartbreaking stories, click 'UPDATES' below --> beside the word "DONATIONS". Please be aware, these stories may cause distress.

We know that many of you, like us, will be wanting to help, but to make that help count we decided to share it beyond our immediate family.

My sister, nephew and niece, a solo parent family, ran out of their flat at 4am on Monday morning (28 February) just as the mattress on which the little 2yr old girl was sleeping began to float. Hours later their entire flat was swallowed by the floodwaters. When we heard of their situation we wanted to help and donate. But as we heard more stories of survival, more horrific escapes and experiences, we knew we needed to reach out and hold the hands and hearts of as many in the community as we could.

We’re asking you to come together and pool our resources to help as many of these solo parent families as we can. We're aiming for $1000 raised for each family. Already there are more families on our waitlist than we can supply, so every action matters. Donate, share in your network and reach out to these solo parents in this unprecedented time.

“One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.”
― Shannon L. Alder


ARE YOU A SINGLE PARENT IN NEED? SIGN UP TO THE WAITLIST
We know we can't help everyone, but with so many people in need we are doing our darndest to raise funds for as many as we can. We are asking solo parents to sign up to a waitlist in the hopes of balancing supply with demand.

All funds will go to as many single parents in need as possible. We are aiming to raise $1000 per family and will work our way through the queue. No money will be withheld for administration, nor by this fundraising platform. All proceeds go to those in need.

To sign up to the waitlist, copy/paste this link into your browser:
www.bit.ly/FG-flood-support


READ THE STORIES OF FLOOD VICTIMS
The stories submitted by solo-parents in this crowdfund are continuously added as updates on the campaign page. Please donate to receive updates, or hit the ‘follow this campaign for updates’ button.


SHORT STORIES
Please be aware that reading these accounts may cause distress.

Most of the time I love being a solo parent, but emergencies don’t make the list. I have to make every decision and wear the responsibilities of those snap judgements. I’m angry at needing to do this alone, time after time after time. We didn’t have adequate support. I couldn’t be or do it all. I couldn’t evacuate safely. For six hours my three year old was forced to sit in our kayak tied to the clotheslines while the rain lashed around her face and soaked her until her little lips were blue. We were tethered to the clothesline with an extension lead I ripped out of the house in a panic. As flood waters continued to rise around us and I sobbed goodbyes to loved ones down the phone and imagined watching my toddler drown in my arms. It hurts to be in this position AGAIN. I have worked so so hard over the last year to recoup most of what we lost in our 2021 house fire and now it’s vanished right from under my nose all over again. I have nowhere to run my business and earn our keep. Nowhere to live for who knows how long - in the face of an extreme rental crisis. Every single thing I bought or made post fire is again - gone. Another traumatic experience to add to the bank. PTSD reigns supreme. There are only so many times you can restart on your own.
- Lauren, Lismore CBD

The last thing I did before going to bed was to hang my children’s floaties on the bedroom door, just in case. A strange thing to do perhaps, but there’s only me. There’s not another set of ready hands, or another mind in the moment, to help problem solve. I’ve got to make the decisions that will give my kids the best chance and protect them as much as I can. The flood levels were not predicted to reach our house, yet I had spent the last couple of days lifting, packing and preparing our house and belongings. The doors were sandbagged. I’d packed a bag in the car and moved it up the hill. I’d turned off all power points, even the fridge. I’d set my alarm to wake hours before the ‘peak’ of the flood so I could assess where we were at. It still wasn’t enough. I don’t think anyone could have prepared enough for this. My 6 yr old son and I ‘miraculously’ awoke at 3.30am, just as the first trickle of water snaked in under the door. A man arrived at our door yelling for us to get out now. We tried to move more of our stuff upstairs to our housemate’s room (another single mum). My little boy waded back and forth carrying his belongings and treasures upstairs. We had 30 minutes before the water had risen to a level where the mattress on which my 2 yr old was still sleeping started to float. I snatched her up and ran out the door. We got to a friend’s house, safe. The flood breached the second level of our house. It was incomprehensible. Previously the highest level breached in our house to our knowledge was 15cm. Our ceiling collapsed, our home is unlivable, but what’s most heartbreaking is hearing my little boy try to problem solve where we will now live.
– Nina, Bexhill NSW

I’m overwhelmed by what a long haul this is going to be. It’s taken me years after my husband left us with nothing to rebuild our lives & now my daughter keeps crying listing all the things she became attached to. It’s hard for children to comprehend the notion of our lives being at risk vs material or sentimental things. Myself and another solo mum fled at 4am with our kids and nothing but the clothes on my back. Our double story house is under and I have lost everything. We also don’t know where we are going to live. The housing situation in the northern rivers is so dire – worst for solo parents. I felt vulnerable before - now I’m not sure there is any hope of us being re-housed or recouping what we lost. It all feels too hard right now : /
– Leah, Bexhill NSW

On Sunday night the power went out at 11pm, so I had flashlights ready and was up mopping leaks in the house. I went to the toilet but when I flushed it, the water came up halfway. I went out to check the usually dry creek level on the side terrace and saw water overflowing the terrace. That has never happened before! I went out to the front of the house and water was all I could see! I moved my campervan on higher grounds and started to lift everything in the house up to higher shelves, thinking I was saving all the most important things. Little did I know that all the shelves and furniture would fall over anyway. My son was sleeping on the couch. I picked him up when the water level was almost touching him and put him down on my bed, next to his sister. I found some jumpers and wetsuits and after waking my children, helped them get dressed on top of the kitchen table. My housemate gave them two life vests as well. Then the table started to wobble and float! I moved the kids outside on top of my bus roof, which was parked under the terrace roof. Carried the kids to the kitchen counter, while putting up the ladder, and then carried them to the ladder and up to the bus roof. Lastly I got a tarp, kids floaties, saw, rope and secateurs. The water was up to my belly button by then. It all happened so fast, from no water to waist height! I was too wet to climb the bus roof and smelled like sewage, so I balanced on the top of a ladder for the rest of the night. When my son woke up, he saw somebody swimming in the flood waters! We could not believe our eyes! It was our neighbour, the landlady's nephew, coming to check on us if we were Ok. First time I had ever identified somebody as a True Blue Ozzie Hero! About half an hour later our other neighbours came in by canoes to rescue us!
- Elina, The Channon NSW

I was a volunteer firefighter with the RFS for over 4 years, and also a trained Case Manager/Support Facilitator. The skills and training I had from this saved our lives. After preparing the property and pets for a possible flood, I left our house with my 8yo daughter. I came back the next day after another night of minimal sleep from the heaviest rain I have ever heard. The house had already been inundated, to floor height. I was absolutely shocked. I started rescuing pets and bolstering barricades against the rising waters. The neighbour came to help out, but her car got bogged and we couldn’t tow it out. The water rose and rose - the rate it was rising was mindblowing. We were trapped. We heard that the neighbours on the other, much lower side hadn’t been rescued yet and had lost all communication. I messaged and called authorities again and again for help. Night fell, and after hearing choppers throughout the day go past, having logged the rescue for the neighbours and us, I couldn’t sleep. I left a flashing torch on the fence post, illuminating the house, deck lights on, hoping the SES would see us. It was terrifying knowing how incredibly fast the water was rising and how inundated we were. At 4am I thought I heard 3 voices and screaming. I felt beyond desperate, worried the neighbours were drowning. As the sun rose I was worried the other lady with me had gone into sepsis, and I felt I had started to go into shock, the water was still rising, and I was exhausted. We spent many hours outside trying to wave at Choppers. The cloud cover was so thick that they missed us altogether. I found fluros and other high visibility materials and laid them down so the rescue teams could see and find us. We were finally rescued by Rob from ADF, but I had to leave our dog behind. It was heartbreaking. I took her back to the house where I had laid all the dog food we had and a large bowl of fresh water and told her to “stay home”. She got out and tried to follow us. My heart broke as I had to tell her to “go home”. I will never forget her face.
– Kate, Richmond Valley NSW

We never thought the flood would reach our house . Not even 1974 got in . We were so wrong . We swam out at neck height . It was so scary . The screams of people on their roofs everywhere. We could not help them . My son saved our neighbour who was floating on a log gasping for air . He said he would have died if my son was not there.
We lost so much in the floods . My grown kids also lost their homes . My youngest son is 11 and autistic and homeschooled. We lost 4 years worth of work as well as many of his familiar things. We are all without a home and couch surfing. I’m not sure what to do from here.
- Sarah, Lismore NSW

I am a deeply private person. I can share that my children and I were rescued off of our neighbours roof along with 2 other families, 5 adults, 10 children.
- Jasmin, Mullumbimby NSW