Brady's story

"I had recently started working for a dealership when a supplier dropping a car off suddenly collapsed and had a heart attack right in front of my colleagues and I. We were in shock and really upset after this, so our employer asked Ben to come to the site and offer support to us. When the support team arrived, they asked me if I was alright… and I just broke down.

"The trauma of seeing this poor man collapse right in front of me came on top of something else I was struggling to deal with. After speaking to the team at Ben I told them about my situation and how I felt like I couldn’t cope anymore.

"My partner Amy and I have two children, and not long before the incident at work we had another, a daughter. She was born at 34 weeks and unfortunately passed away after two days. We were devastated. It completely crushed us. I had to take time off work to mourn, but as I was a new member of staff I wasn’t yet entitled to sick pay, so we quite quickly started to feel the pinch of not having enough money coming in.

"I needed to make sure Amy and the children could be provided for, so I went to a payday lender and got a loan. But the relief from the financial pressure and keeping the family happy was short-lived. I was having to pay more and more back, which meant we started to spiral further and further into debt. More of my pay each month was going on debt payments until eventually, I struggled to pay my rent so the arrears mounted up.

"When Ben’s advisors came to my dealership that day I was only a couple of weeks away from being evicted after a court order had been submitted for the rent I couldn’t pay. The debt spiral just didn’t stop and it was on my mind 24/7. I was so stressed all the time because of it, with decisions like ‘Do I pay for Christmas presents for the kids or pay rent this month?’; It was exhausting.

"Once I spoke to the Ben support team I was allocated an advisor who jumped into action and helped me and my family straight away. I was given counselling for the loss of my daughter and we were provided with advice and support on how to manage and reduce the debt we have. My employers were also great at supporting me, so in a short space of time I have gone from constant worry and despair to seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

"If I wasn’t for Ben I don’t know what would have happened to us. What I do know is that I tell everyone at work to contact Ben if they have an issue, as the advisors who helped me are an absolute credit to the charity. If it wasn’t for the care, advice and support they provided, my family may well have been homeless.

"Life will never be the same after the loss of our daughter, but Ben have certainly helped improve things for us."