Dressed for success Leonie never thought the Roy Orbison song Oh, Pretty Woman would become synonymous with her journey of transformation. That was until AnglicareSA Thread Together volunteers sang the song in celebration as she stepped out of our clothing hub with a new wardrobe in hand, ready for a fresh start.
“I felt like Julia Roberts in the movie Pretty Woman,” she said. “I looked in the mirror, and for the first time in 20 years, I felt beautiful.” Leonie’s visit to AnglicareSA’s Thread Together clothing hub came about after she enrolled in the non-profit organisation GOGO Foundation’s Inclusive Work Program (IWP) – a nine-week small group program for women to overcome personal barriers to housing, health, and employment. As part of the program and embracing a new start, the women are invited to Thread Together to pick out a few outfits. With the support of Thread Together volunteers, Leonie picked out dresses, shoes, handbags, and accessories that suited her personal style. She said the clothing was more than just fabric – it had helped her reclaim her dignity, pride, and confidence. “The clothing kick-started a new beginning,” she said. “When I wear one of my new outfits on the bus, I feel good in what I am wearing and carry myself differently. It’s completely changing me. “Before, I was just existing – now I am living.” AnglicareSA partners with Thread Together to provide South Australians in need with brand-new clothes that would otherwise end up in landfill.
In the last financial year, AnglicareSA’s Thread Together service provided clothes to almost 5,000 South Australians.
Leonie is making a fresh start with a fresh new look
Focus on financial literacy
Our Financial Wellbeing Community Engagement Workers were responsible for sharing AnglicareSA’s Cost of Living Program (COLP) with the community.
The team attended events and community venues with pop-up stands where they ran financial literacy workshops, scam trivia workshops, sessions on cooking meals on a budget, and information about concessions for lower-income earners.
These informal sessions were designed to meet with people in locations where they were comfortable, such as community centres, and provide information to assist them with financial literacy and the agency to become “experts in their own lives”.
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