Single mum wins $3.3 million home after act of thanks to Kids Helpline for saving son’s life

This single mum’s simple act of gratitude to the charity that saved her son’s life has been rewarded with a life-changing $3.3 million prize.

A gingle mum’s simple act of gratitude to the charity that saved her son’s life has been rewarded with a life-changing $3.3 million prize.

The single mum of two will be moving into her new multimillion-dollar prize home in southeast Queensland, which she won after buying a raffle ticket to support Kids Helpline.

She thought the donation to the chance raffle — run by YourTown, the charity that funds the helpline – was the beginning and end of her saying thanks to the charity that changed her son’s life years ago.

“I thought ‘hey, it’s a donation’. I never in a million years thought that it wasn’t a donation and I’d win a house,” she told 9News.

The single mum bought a raffle ticket to repay the Kids Helpline for helping her son. Picture: 9News

For her small act, the single mum won a $3.3 million luxury home in southeast Queensland. Picture: 9News

Instead, she is set to get a fresh start, moving from her tiny two-bedroom apartment, where she raised her two sons to the $3.3m luxury home.

That same apartment was where one of her sons began to struggle with his mental health, as a teenager.

“He got a little bit angry with the, was just becoming really hard to parent,” the mum, who asked not to be named, said about her son, now 26-years-old.

At the time, the teenager reached out to Kids Helpline, unbeknown to his mum. But his mum said it was a decision that she was forever grateful for.

“They helped him with counselling, they helped him with training to become job ready,” she said.

The mum with her two sons. Picture: 9News

Buying a raffle ticket was her small way of saying thanks and giving back to the charity that turned her son’s life around.

Five months later, the charity changed her life all over again. Not only did it reward her with the keys to an exciting new chapter of her life, but helping her meet the counsellor who helped her son in his time of need.

Helpline counsellor Phil told 9News the son was an example of how young lives can be turned around and avoid “negative consequences if there’s not help available”.

The mum said even supporting “one kid to get their life back in order just makes so much difference”.

Kids Helpline helps hundreds of thousands of young people every year. Picture: Supplied

Kids Helpline’s latest six-monthly Impact Report shows the service desperately needs more funding and resources, with only two in five children and young people who call for help able to get through to a counsellor in 2022.

The most recent figures show 328,424 young people tried to contact Kids Helpline in 2022 with just 145,000 – 44 per cent – able to connect with a counsellor.

The report also found symptoms of anxiety and depression continued to rise among young people, attributed to limited access to mental health services and the length of time it takes for a young person to get counselling support when they need it most.

The helpline reported that mental health interventions dealing with suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and child abuse have also increased compared to before the pandemic.

Kids Helpline gives children and young people choices, support and someone to listen. Picture: Boni Holmes / Maryborough Herald.

YourTown CEO Tracy Adams said the organisation was doing a lot of the “heavy lifting” for mental health support for young people, because the cost of support services “puts access out of reach for most”.

“As the prevalence of mental health and wellbeing related issues in childhood rises, the significant gap in accessing support deepens,” she said in a statement.

“Kids Helpline continues to be a critical safety-net for children and young people, however we cannot keep pace with demand.”

She called for more government investment – a “small amount” of what was pulled out of the Medicare’ rebates for mental health support sessions – in the helpline, so it can do more to support kids in crisis.

“The Australian Government’s support to Kids Helpline is still an underspend, but we are doing our best,” Ms Adams said.

“Funding for Kids Helpline needs to be a priority for Government, the current serious funding shortfall means that many children and young people are simply not getting the timely care they need.

“With adequate Federal and State funding support and timely intervention, young people experiencing mental distress may be able to bounce back, but Kids Helpline requires a major technology uplift to cope with this increasing demand.”