After the very unexpected and sudden passing of Anya’s mother, Anya was left to fend for herself with her younger 16 year old sister, Willow. Without the funding to pay for the funeral, Anya turned to us for support. Anya now pays the rent for her family home, not something you’d wish on a 21 year old, especially now that she is supporting her younger sister. She was very fortunate to be able to keep her family home, however with this she inherited her mother’s water bill that was far too much for Anya to pay out. Anya doesn’t have any other family in the UK she can turn to apart from her 16 year old sister who is currently in college and has become her dependent. 


Never do you expect to inherit a responsibility like this and have your freedom taken from you. Anya has done incredibly well with the hand she has been dealt, she has been so strong and open about the support she needs. Her employer was very understanding about her circumstances, having gone through something similar herself at a young age, she was able to give Anya the time off that she needed to grieve and process what has happened. This was well needed as the emotional turmoil you are left with after a bereavement can be so limiting and overwhelming, everyone deals with it differently, but Anya was a warrior throughout.


With the time given Anya managed to secure government funding to cover the funeral costs, therefore we supported her with the remaining expenses, and focused on support towards her finances and relieving the stress of getting drowned in bills. It is very easy to get caught in a poor financial state when something unexpected like this happens. That is why it was important to us to provide Anya with guidance from the Citizens Advice Manchester, to manage the debt she already had and to get good footing for her future. Sad situations like these shouldn’t shape your financial future negatively. The support from both ABTA LifeLine and the government allowed Anya to give her mother the funeral she wanted. She was cremated and had her ashes scattered by the ocean as per her wishes. Purple roses were Anya’s mum’s favourite so for the funeral she had a MAM spelt out with them as a tribute to her.


As a final attempt to make Anya and Willow’s life that little bit easier we have provided them with Tesco vouchers. This was to help pay for essentials and bring her further away from her overdraft limit. As with all of our applicants our door is always open if their circumstances change and they once again require our support. Anya knows that we are always here for her, even if just to talk.


“I honestly cannot thank you enough for all your help. You’ve been amazing since the day I firstly called when I didn’t know who to turn to. 


A big thank you from myself and my sister.”


*The names of the applicant(s) have been altered for their privacy, given a new name in place of their own. In addition to this stock images have been used*

If you are in need of support, get in touch with ABTA LifeLine today.