Update: there isn't always a happy ending

This post is written by Janine.

Good evening friends.
I am writing for Kath as she cannot post tonight, but she wanted to tell you what has transpired today.

Tomorrow is Kath's birthday... Here is how her birthday eve turned out...

Kath is homeless again. Tonight she left her new home after a big argument with the person who promised to treat her well, but has not. Kath's job has not worked out. She has worked really hard cleaning for the person who has a contract cleaning tender in the region Kath had been living. Kath was approached by this woman and offered paid work, and a room in a lovely home in the mountains near to where Kath had been living in her car.

Early mornings, pain in the ankle and wrist, being treated as a lesser person... This has been Kath's week. She trusted, and that trust has been broken. She was spoken to harshly,  and there is no justification for this. Kath doesn't understand what went wrong. She really wanted this job for as long as it lasted to help her get on her feet, to help her pay for new tyres for her car, to help pay for the surgeries she needs to be well enough to work again. 

Tonight I spoke to Kath on the telephone. Her old phone is at least a text message and phone call lifeline to those who care. She was in tears... Howling by the side of the road on the way to her beloved lake, on her way to the place where she feels safest. I don't know what to do, what to say. I wish I was able to offer her more that the couple of bits of cash I could spare... More than listening. I have nothing to give her that can change this situation.

So, just as I share Kath's story with my family, I decided to share with you - what is to happen to a woman who has worked all her life? A woman who is suffering the consequences of hard manual work, of an accident in her twenties that has left her scarred with arthritis and tendon problems that now scream for corrective surgery that she cannot afford and that the SYSTEM refuses to pay for.

Is this right?

No, no it is not. It is far from right. 

It stinks.