Single mothers hit hard by cost-of-living crisis new Financial Wellbeing Collective report finds

Single mothers are amongst the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new report.

The report, from the Financial Wellbeing Collective, shows that more than 70 per cent of people receiving emergency relief from 12 WA agencies — such as Anglicare — were women.

For Kylie Wilson, making ends meet is a daily struggle.

She said her birthday, earlier in 2024, was a turning point when she finally summoned the courage to seek help and contacted St Patrick’s Community Centre.

“I rang them, absolutely distraught,” Ms Wilson said. “I pretty much cried all that day, trying to get a hold of St Pats.

“It was the Friday before my birthday in May.

“I had no money and was behind in my rent and couldn’t even provide a birthday cake for my kids to have.

“I said, ‘I can’t manage on my own anymore’. Everything got on top of me.”

A single mother of three — Joel, 23, Millie, 15, and Harley, 9 — Ms Wilson is one of 7621 women whom sought emergency relief in the 2023-24 financial year.

Her youngest two children have health issues, meaning Ms Wilson is unable to work full-time because she needs to look after them.

Instead, she cleans windows and relies on Centrelink to get by.

By the time she pays rent, there’s barely $150 left for the fortnight for food and bills.

Ms Wilson no longer has a car — having to sell her 2017 Kia to catch up with bills.

“Increases to cost of living has made it tough,” she said. “The cost of even a small shop at supermarkets is ridiculous.”

Financial Wellbeing Collective general manager Helena Jakupovic said single mothers such as Ms Wilson were among those doing it the toughest.

“Single mothers have always been an economically disadvantaged group, but today’s cost of living has forced single mums like Kylie into new levels of financial, food and utility stress, deepening the experiences of hardship for those families,” she said.

“Inflation has pushed higher income bracket households and individuals into financial hardship, but for those who were already struggling they have been pushed into levels of poverty where they are making very tough decisions everyday just to survive.”

With the help of Uniting — who organised a financial counsellor to help her arrange payment plans with utility groups like Synergy and Alinta — and St Patrick’s Community Centre, St Vincent de Paul and Foodbank, Ms Wilson has been able to get her life back in order.

“My favourite saying is that the bottom is there to bounce back from,” she said. “I hit rock bottom but realised it’s there to bounce off off.

“I now realise that there is help out there from people who genuinely care. Life is better. My bills are currently under control.

“It has lightened the kids’ load, seeing me laugh again.”

And her message for others in a similar boat?

“Don’t be afraid to get help. There is help out there,” she said.