Steven had suffered an accident while serving, rupturing a disc and crushing a nerve in his back. He’d had surgery to repair the damage but had permanent numbness and loss of mobility in his leg.
Together with his wife Jessica and two children, Steven had been living in a subsidised defence rental but that changed when he was medically discharged. And after having a newborn in 2020, Jessica was made redundant while on maternity leave.
To help cover household expenses, Steven had applied for but been rejected from a bank loan. Jessica had accessed $10,000 from her super and Steven had an application open to do the same.
The biggest financial stressor was their car loan and they found themselves choosing between keeping up with these payments or buying groceries.
Steven had done the right thing and contacted his lease provider, asking for payments to be put on hold because of his financial circumstances, but had not received a timely response. With registration and insurance bills due and servicing overdue, they were unable to meet all of their expenses.
Bravery Trust was able to help Steven and Jessica get back on track and they worked with Bravery Trust’s Financial Counsellor toward a long-term budget and savings plan.
Our mission is to empower veterans and improve lives; and we work to make sure serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force are not financially disadvantaged due to being injured during service.
* Real name changed for privacy and confidentiality.
