Mili* got in touch with Good Shepherd after being referred to us by Women’s Refuge. She left an abusive relationship where her partner controlled all the money and the financial decisions. Mili and her five children were staying at the Refuge’s safe house, and she had a protection order against her ex-partner.

When fleeing violence, Mili had needed loans from the government for things like housing and furniture. She had to relocate six times, leading to a debt of $100,000 with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). Mili was working with a financial mentor to try and improve her situation.

Our team could see opportunities to help her become more financially stable, so we got to work. We were able to get Mili’s repayments to MSD reduced from $98 to $30. This loan won’t be paid off in her lifetime but lower repayments should help with getting by each week. 

We learned that $70 of Mili’s benefit was being redirected to pay for power each week, and this had been the case for years. Conversations with the power company revealed she was in credit by $2,000 and they hadn’t been able to make contact with her due to her address and phone number changing often as she moved to stay safe. Despite being in credit, when Mili moved into her new Kainga Ora rental and applied to the same company, they declined her due to a bad credit report. After we helped the power provider understand Mili’s situation, power was connected, her overpayment was refunded, and her power and internet was capped at $200 for six months.   

Mili also had a $20,000 debt with a finance company for a recent car purchase. Her ex had always damaged her vehicles — often when she tried to leave the relationship. While Mili was staying at the safe house, he found where she was and smashed her new car so badly it couldn’t be driven. The finance company had been contacted about the loan being unaffordable when it was first obtained, and they responded by refunding interest and penalties, and lowering repayments. After the car was damaged, and through many conversations, we managed to have it returned to the finance company. Because of Mili’s unique circumstances, they wiped the remaining debt.

“Thank you so much, no one has ever been able to help me the way you have” – Mili.

_{* name has been changed for safety}

“I never thought I could do this in my life, but I did it. I can breathe again.”

Rebecca and her husband worked in good jobs and lived a nice lifestyle. 

Over time, her husband began gambling and using drugs. He had looked after their finances for a while, 

but it started going further than managing bills. He controlled Rebecca’s bank accounts, accessed her email without her knowledge, and reset banking passwords to take money from her. He stole valuable jewellery from Rebecca and pawned it to pay for his addictions.

Rebecca understood how bad things were, and separated from her husband despite family encouragement to stay and work on her marriage. 

With the family home caught up in a prolonged court process, Rebecca was exhausted and had minimal funds to support her family. She started a small business on top of her day job, and still needed to rely on foodbanks and community support. 

Over the next year, Rebecca worked with her bank to use the proceeds from the relationship property to buy her own home. But a credit check found over $40,000 of debt in her name that she was unaware of. 

She was referred to Good Shepherd and met Vanessa — a specialist in recovery from economic harm. Vanessa’s work helps lenders recognise when credit applications could be linked to abuse, advocates for better processes, and educates creditors and Good Shepherd clients about possible solutions for unjust debt.  

Vanessa worked closely with Rebecca. She advocated with Rebeca’s bank and the other creditor to get an agreement on resolving the debt. With a resolution agreed on, Rebecca’s bank approved her home loan.

As she started setting up the utilities in her new home, Rebecca got a call from a debt collection agency about a more than $10,000 debt in her name that she didn’t know about. Vanessa worked with the utility company on a resolution, and Rebecca was able to get utilities in her new home. 

The economic impact of family violence can continue even after the relationship and other forms of abuse have ended. Good Shepherd raises awareness of this, encouraging businesses and organisations to develop appropriate responses for their customers and clients so we can all play our part in eliminating family harm in New Zealand.