52 Lives

#323 Gemma

Request: Donations / Gifts from a wishlist / New home cards

This week, we’d like to help a teenage girl called Gemma.

Gemma has lived in a violent household for her entire life. Her dad was physically and emotionally abusive to her and her mum. At one point, they were deprived of food for a period of time, and she was also thrown out of the house during the night.

They fled the family home in July, and have been staying in temporary accommodation ever since. But Gemma has been left with serious mental health issues and her self-esteem is at rock bottom. She hasn’t been able to attend school for most of the year, and is in an intensive treatment programme for self-harm and suicidal behaviour.

They are about to move into their permanent home, but they barely have anything.

Their support worker said: “This has been a really tough case due to the hold this man has had on Gemma. They are so deserving of some love and kindness.”

With your help, we’d like to help create a home for Gemma and her mum.

What We Need

1. Donations: Your donations will be used to buy furniture, bedding and anything else Gemma and her mum need. You can donate online or by text using the details below. 

2. Gifts from a wishlist: We've set up a wishlist filled with some of the smaller things they need for their home. To buy a gift from the Wishlist, please click the link below. Your gift will be sent directly to the family (just tick 'this is a gift' and select 'gift registry address' at checkout). 

3. New home cards: We'd love to send them to kind messages and new home cards to let them know we're all thinking of them. To send a message by email, just write it in the form below and we will pass it along (your contact details will not be shared), or you can post a card or message to: 52 Lives (Life # 323), PO Box 3154, Reading, RG1 9AT.  

BUY A GIFT

DONATE ONLINE

WHAT WE DID

Thanks to all of you, every item was bought from the wishlist and we’ve raised enough funds to buy them the furniture they need as well. But what you’ve done for them is about so much more than just furniture or some homewares - all of your kindness this week has helped them to feel loved and supported, at a time when they really needed to feel that way.

Their support worker said: "They are totally overwhelmed and phoned me in tears. This has been a lifeline for them." Thank you all so much for helping them.