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A single mother of three, one of whom has a serious medical condition, has exposed the shocking reality of Australia’s housing crisis.
Bo-Anne Kolkman was “exhausted, sad, confused and on the verge of mental breakdown” when two things came together to put her family on a better path.
She turned to GoFundMe to seek help buying a home in Byford, a suburb of Perth, by using the fundraiser as a deposit.
She was successful – and now Mrs. Kolkman has changed from paying $550 a week in rent to living in her own home where her mortgage is $412 a week.
She saves $138 each week and is extremely grateful that her rent would increase to $620 a week before moving into her own home.
Bo-Anne Kolkman (right) is pictured with her children Harrison, Hannah and Sienna outside the house she bought with help from GoFundMe
Ms. Kolkman said her GoFundMe has had an “amazing response,” especially as she struggled with the idea of getting involved.
“By doing the fundraiser, you are in a very volatile position and let people know that you are having such a hard time financially.
“I spent a lot of time thinking I didn’t want to expose myself, and then I thought, what have I got to lose,” she told the Daily Mail Australia.
The ever-increasing cost of living and her family’s circumstances forced her to take the bold step of seeking help from complete strangers.
Her son Harrison was born with bilateral dysplastic kidneys and underwent a living donor transplant when he was 20 months old.
He is now nine and has continued to suffer from chronic health problems in recent years, which prevent him from attending school with his friends and also from working for Mrs. Kolkman.
“I tried to work as much as possible in a job where I couldn’t be reliable because of my son’s health condition,” she said.
“And I was restricted by Centrelink because I’m his primary caregiver and they only let me do so much work before punishing me.”
Harrison (pictured) was born with bilateral, dysplastic kidneys and had a living donor transplant when he was 20 months old
Bo-Anne Kolkman is pictured with her children Harrison, Sienna and Hannah
The cost of everything went up, but her rent was the worst of all.
“I was paying $550 rent a week and I was told it would go up to $620 in March, so to be prepared because if I couldn’t afford it, they had to find someone who could.
“That lack of security for a single mother with three young children was just debilitating because I tried so hard.”
After she set up the fundraiser, she wondered if she could qualify for a single parent scheme where it was a two percent down payment and no stamp duty if you bought a home under $430,000.
Harrison (9) is pictured hugging the family dog Bodhi, whom he and his sisters refer to as a therapy dog
The first mortgage broker she went to said he wouldn’t even approach the banks about it because she wasn’t financially secure enough.
“That was really paralyzing. I went home and had a real moment, a real crash moment,” she said, succumbing to the memory.
“But I got up again and went to another broker. She said I was eligible for the scheme and had arranged the pre-approval.
“At that stage, the GoFundMe page was up and running and people were donating and that became my deposit,” said Ms. Kolkman.
The family has now moved into their new home, but the fundraiser is still ongoing.
“The place has a few quirks and needs maintenance, so it would be nice to get some help with that,” Ms Kolkman said.
Bo-Anne Kolkman and her son Harrison are pictured in a selfie taken in the Perth suburb of Byford
Her children Sienna, 12, Hannah, 11, and Harrison, 9, are “over the moon.”
The first thing one of her daughters did in their new home was ask if she could draw on her wall, which she couldn’t in a rented house.
“Yeah, I sure did, as long as she didn’t write swear words,” said Mrs. Kolkman.
And while Harrison has had some ups and downs with his health, his mom is hopeful that the long-term prognosis will be positive.
“His whole journey has been pretty good compared to other Rhenal kids, and this is what we keep remembering to ourselves, even though it was tough.
“He’s currently on steroids, so he had moments where he was absolutely manic and will talk until 11:30pm.
“But then he suddenly collapses and says he’s so depressed.”
Harrison (pictured in a hospital bed) had a kidney transplant when he was just 20 months old
She said it’s a “fine balance” to get his medication right as he gets older.
“Hopefully he can stick with the transplant he’s had in the long run, but they may end up getting another transplant from me, or from a donor if they rule me out for whatever reason,” Ms Kolkman said. .
For now, the Kolkman family is simply grateful that they live under their own roof and pay less for a mortgage than they paid in rent.