Strangers’ gifts of cash a ‘godsend’
Wife caring for ill husband says $10,000 and van among ‘unbelievable’ donations
Astranger has donated $10,000 to a struggling West Auckland couple after reading their story in the this month. The story told of a man battling crippling motor neurone disease and his wife providing fulltime care and unable to work, who together received less than $500 a week from the Government.
“We are living off food parcels and on the verge of losing our house because government agencies are paying us less than minimum wage,” Glenda Lovatt said.
Lovatt said she and her husband Grant, 58, told their story to prompt action from the Government.
Instead they received multiple “generous gifts” for the public.
“About a week after the story came out we got this email from the girl who said her parents wanted to donate us $10,000 . . . I thought it was a scam.”
But holding on to hope, Lovatt called the number at the bottom of the email. “It was legitimate and the money is sitting in our account now,” she said.
And the generosity didn’t stop there — a mutual friend donated a van with a lifter for Grant’s wheelchair.
“We’ve also received three anonymous cheques in the letter box and the day the story came out I was walking to the dairy and someone came up and gave me $50 cash. It was unbelievable.”
She said the kindness had been an “absolute godsend”.
“It just takes that little bit of pressure off, now we no longer have stress about getting my car fixed or replacing the fridge.”
But she said most of it will go towards mortgage repayments.
Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni told the three weeks ago she had asked her ministry for urgent advice on the case.
Lovatt said she hadn’t heard a word from any government agency until Work and Income called yesterday. “We’ve booked an appointment with them first thing [today].”
Grant Lovatt was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2012. In 2014 a neurologist gave him less than 12 months to live.
Five years later the Massey man has defied that prognosis. But he spends his days in an electric wheelchair and is fully dependent on Glenda, 53, for fulltime care.
She cares for Grant herself rather than see him in government-funded care. But the Ministry of Health does not pay spouses who care for disabled partners at home. Instead she is living on an offshoot of his Supported Living Payment from Work and Income.
Between them they get $494.20 a week, including an accommodation supplement, supported living payment, and disability allowance and after deductions and debt repayments to Winz are taken into account.