At a time when the Dartmouth Community Chest has come under fire from some in the community, one woman has told her story of how much they have helped her.

Lin Julie moved to Dartmouth around 15 years ago. She has four sons and worked as a cleaner, sometimes working triple shifts, when she was struck down with mental illness.

“My sister died”, Lin explained, “and I had a complete mental breakdown. I lost my job, my home, my furniture, everything.”

Because her property was tied in with her job, Lin had to move out but she had nowhere to go. Her youngest son was still living with her, in a one-bed property where she would sleep on the sofa. She finally got a property through Dartmouth Caring but it was unfurnished.

Dawn Shepherd from the Dartmouth Community Chest, helped Lin with getting sofas and beds and a small fridge. Lin’s son is a qualified marine engineer but has been unable to find a job.

“She gives people hope”, Lin said about Dawn. “I couldn’t go out because of my depression and anxiety, and she has helped me with everything. She has helped with paperwork to fill out, I’ve had to apply for insolvency, which she has helped me with. She’s a star.”

Lin, who claims Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which you are entitled to if you can’t work because of illness or disability, had a problem with her benefits, meaning she received nothing but a one-off payment of £282 in seven weeks.

“Even if your payments come through OK, you can be left with about £3 a week after bills”, Lin explained, “but I had nothing for seven weeks and I’m still supporting my son. Dawn helped by putting money on the gas and electricity.”

Dawn has also helped by making phone calls for Lin, which can be stressful and trigger her anxiety. “You’re passed from person to person to try and sort stuff out”, Lin said, “and it gets to the point that I think ‘I can’t do this anymore’, but Dawn helps and calls them for me.

Lin is proof that this kind of hardship can happen to anyone at any time. She used to work so many hours that she says “the amount of school plays and nativities I’ve missed for my sons makes me feel so guilty”.

The Dartmouth Community Shop, which until recently was running out of the Conservative Club, also gave Lin the confidence to leave the house.

“I used to go and help her out a couple of days a week in the shop. It’s given me the confidence to leave the house again.

“The old dears used to come down and have a chat with you when you were in there. They were frightened of winter coming. With the dark nights and dark mornings, we might have been the only people they spoke to all day.”

Lin said she was keen to organise a rambling or walking group to help combat loneliness in the town.

The Money Advice Service found that in the UK in September last year, 16 million people had less than £100 in savings and the charity Shelter found that 37 per cent of working families in England could not cover housing costs for more than a month in the event of job loss.

Illness, injury, a relationship breakdown, work-hour reduction or redundancy can strike people at any time, and many would not be able to afford their homes without their monthly wage. In fact homelessness in the UK has doubled since 2010.

Dartmouth Community Chest can now be found on Fridays in the Old Market.