Harriet's story - securing debt relief to support recovery from a mental health episode

Debt relief helps recovery from mental illness

Harriet was admitted to hospital after experiencing her first episode of psychosis. Two months before her admission, and whilst her mental health was deteriorating, Harriet lost her job and her home, and had drifted away from family and friends. It was during this time that Harriet accrued a number of fines and debts. Harriet was supported by a social worker, who identified these outstanding legal matters and referred her to Inner Melbourne Community Legal’s on-site legal service.

Through our advocacy, we successfully managed to waive Harriet’s fines. We also managed to substantially reduce her debt by more than 91 per cent and arrange a payment plan for the remaining balance. Harriet has told us that she ""was very happy with this outcome", and that she is "working hard to get her life back on track". She explained that the fact that she no longer had substantial debts hanging over her head was a huge relief and gave her the space she needed to focus on her recovery.