Does anyone know of a legitimate job available to either do at home or take a child with you??
My daughter (17 months) has complex medical issues and I cant be away from her for more than an hour or 2 on a good day.
Is there a job out there for mums like me? No MLM. I dont have any formal training, nor can i afford to take up any. Im on centerlink but it is not enough. Hubby had a knee reconstruction in January, and he gets the other one done in a couple of months, so he cant do his job right now. He is on sickness benefit because he has used up all his leave from work. We are struggling. We are relying on family for food. Its not fair on them or us.
I am trying to sell things from home but its not very successful. Ive paid more to attend markets than i have taken in. I dont have a lot of friends either.
Im already doing ironing. I did start cleaning but theny daughter got a viral infection and spent 6 weeks in hospital.
Ive applied to do a paper route, just waiting to hear back.
Ive had to sell our washing machine to pay a bill.
We are back and forth to the hospital, at least three times a week. Plus GP appointments. I also have a 5 year old.
I dont know where to turn. I feel so guilty.
We have used local charities, but they can only do so much
19 Replies
Babysitting? Try cleaning contractors as well most of their jobs are between 1 to 3 hours and are usually early mornings or late evenings. Give your local ones a ring because they don't always advertise positions.
thankyou. ill try them
Don't take this the wrong way, I'm genuinely asking because I don't understand. If your husband is home on sick benefits why do you need to stay home or take your daughter to work? Wouldn't you be looking for casual work outside the home as well?
If hes recovering from a knee reconstruction and another one looming, chances are he's not physically up to chasing around after/caring for a toddler with complex medical needs.
OP here: She has 2 very rare medical conditions where she is allergic to eating. She is soley breastfed because she has a severe oral aversion. If she injests any food her esophogus closes, my hubby cant drive at the moment so she has to stay with me
First things first, are you claiming the correct entitlements from centrelink?
If your daughter's medical needs are that significant, you should be entitled to a carers pension and some NDIS funding for some of her medical expenses - if you aren't already on this payment/looking into it, definitely speak with centrelink to see if you're eligible.
Even if not, if your partner is out of work currently you should be entitled to full family tax benefit rates and full partnered parenting payments.
Is there anyway hubby can go back to work on light duties? I understand that may not be a possibility in highly arduous/physical workplace bit it's worth looking into, he may need to look into getting a less physically taxing job in a different industry at some point too because sitting around on sickness leave indefinitely isn't a good long term solution.
A stay at home mum I know actually does a washing service. She will do a load of washing, dry and iron it for say $40 a load. She advertises on Facebook and get a a decent amount of business, maybe something along those lines could help you bring in a little extra cash?
OP here: centerlink dont recognize her condions, also because there is a very small chance she *could* grow out of it, centerlink wont accept it. we were also told tgat because she is under 3 unless its terminal, or something like Cystic fibrosis we wont get approved. we are going through our 3rd lot of appeals now.
ndis rejected us.
i get ppp, tax a and tax b... its not enough.
i had to sell my washing machine to pay bills. at the moment im using our bath tub to wash clothes. so something like that wont work
Oh man, i did not realise your situation was so dire!
It actually makes me so mad that in Australia, AKA, the "Lucky Country" we have so many families doing it so tough, no one in our country should have to sell their basic appliances just to make ends meet (especially when those families are dealing with medical issues and the flow on effects of that, that's beyond their control).
I don't have any more advice but hang in there mate, i really hope things get easier for your family real soon!
*perhaps the Salvos or Vinnies could help you out with a new washer?*
OP here: Thankyou. I was using the laundromat but it became way too expensive. So bath tub it is. We go to the hospital at least 3 times a week for appointments (we see different departments). We are saving for a new one, we dont have much but little bits at a time. Tax time ill be able to get caught up, but once that is gone i dont know what we will do.
Drs keep telling us to apply with NDIS to get help too but because her conditions are so rare they are of no help. Its very frustrating
There’s some jobs where you can do admin from home or telemarketing from home
OP here: Do you know where i can find out about these jobs?
On seek
You need to look for these jobs
OP here: ive never seen any job like that on seek, jora, indeed, or other search sites like that
Apple are one avenue, they regularly advertise for online work however you do need to be readily available (it's answering the online chat team). Telstra also advertise for it here and there.
Different poster: Suncorp also have home based call centre positions. Your husband could do this too - home based. You sound exhausted and carrying too many loads - push back on hubby. He might not be walking but he can fold washing, read stories, peel veges. Honestly, the less he does the less he thinks he can do. If you'd had a knee reconstruction, would you be sitting doing nothing feeling sorry for yourself?...
Also, and please don't take this the wrong way, phone based sex work is also a great way to make good money from home. I have an old school friend who raised her kids (both with disabilities) with just this income. She reckoned it was very flexible, and paid well. No vision, just audio. Not sure how you get the work but maybe worth googling...
Please don't dismiss MLM, I have a son with special needs & felt the exact way as you do.
Just look at it as rather than execs getting the middle cut, it goes to you.
It isn't practical for me to work outside our home.
In desperation I signed up to one that I do from home, on the internet, no parties or inventory just my time- as much or as little as I can give it.
The income Isn't a replacement wage by any means, but it is a trickle that brings our heads above water & has potential to do much more.
For the first time in years the sick feeling is subsiding. X
What state are you in I have a spare washing machine? You can have it... I am in Sydney.
As for hubby I get he isn’t super mobile but he kinda has to help, I think as women we give men way more allowance than we would get in the same situation.
I don’t know anything about NDIS but I would be getting your specialist to be writing compelling letters to support your appeals. This system seems to fail the most needy.
Good luck,
Ideas are babysitting, cleaning, lawn mowing, telemarketing, dog walking, junk mail delivering, online surveys, transcribing, taking part in clinical medical trialshttps://www.australianclinicaltrials.gov.au/clinical-trial-registries, online surveys earn a very small amount., homemade items on Etsy (candles/soaps/children’s costumes) You might be able to type in work from home on Seek.
I’m not sure what state you are in, but some states offer free foundation courses at uni http://study.unisa.edu.au/degrees/unisa-foundation-studies. This could put you on your way towards a qualification.
You could also contact the financial counseling hotline http://www.ndh.org.au/
You might be able to volunteer until you are able to get a paid job. One that might work would be an in home disability carer. They often have short split shifts, and some clients are happy to have children come too.
For concens with food you could look in to rescued food from a place called Oz Harvest https://www.ozharvest.org/
Hubby needs to take on some more of the work load, however that looks.
Contact your local carers org to see what respite they can offer, as well as other home services, might be time limited but it’s better than nothing. They should also be able to connect you with other services.
Have you got an advocate to help with ndis application?
There’s plenty of kids with ECEI (early childhood early intervention) funding who don’t have a ‘permanent’ Disabilty. It’s for 0- 6 year olds.
An OT full functional assessment would demonstrate the complexities of the situation. The main thing is to prove that’s it’s disability and not ‘medical’
What’s the hospital social worker doing for you? They should be connecting you with charities and other services. What about Variety or your local Lions club? Surely they’d spring for a washer or other assistance.
You need someone in your corner doing all this crap while you focus on caring for your little one