The love that carried Ali: An Easter story of hope
24 February 2026
This Easter, Ali* is thriving — raising her family, running a business and living a life grounded in faith and deeply connected to The Salvation Army. Her journey to this place was, at times, terrifying and dark, but through it all, she experienced a love that held firm and gave hope when life felt uncertain.
Ali has chosen to share her story of recovery this Easter to encourage others. Out of respect for her family, she has chosen not to share her real name or photo, but the experiences she recounts are true and told in her own words.
She shares:
“I grew up with a single mum raising kids on her own. My dad had been very violent to my mum and to us. Mum had grown up with violence too, so she thought being hit was how you were shown love. When she finally left, she was very depressed and heavily medicated — the only way she knew how to cope.
We often went hungry. We often had nothing.
There was a lot of drug abuse, violence and trauma in our commission [public housing] neighbourhood.
Even after we left Dad, the street we lived on was full of families going through the same sort of things. Houses around us were refuge houses. People were always coming and going. Kids would show up bruised or not fed properly, people struggling with addiction would turn up. It felt like a revolving door and it wasn’t healthy.”
Childhood struggle and fear
Because of everything going on, we were in and out of foster care for years. Sometimes we were placed together, sometimes split up. There was one family who took all of us in and they were wonderful, but most of the time it was just one or two of us together and the other somewhere else.
That was very lonely and sometimes frightening. My brother and sister were louder, more of a handful. I was quieter and kept to myself. But moving around was hard for all of us.
Back then, clothes came from the Salvos or hand-me-downs. Mum would say, ‘Pick something for summer, pick something for winter.’ The clothes were daggy back then, nothing like the Salvos stores now. It was embarrassing, but that was all we had [and it was something].”
Finding hope and support at the Salvos
The Salvos were always there for us at that time.
They had this little bus that used to drive around the neighbourhood and pick families up for church. We’d go to Sunday school, hear Bible stories, sing songs, and there’d be cakes or cookies. You’d get a good feed and a fun day and we began to learn about God.
Christmas was another time the Salvos made a huge difference. I remember one year, just a couple of days before Christmas, they turned up with boxes of groceries — so much food — and presents for each of us kids. Mum was so grateful.
It happened a few years in a row.
Later they started doing it differently, with tables set up so parents could choose presents for each child by age group. Either way, it meant we had food on the table and something under the tree. It made Christmas feel normal, even when we had nothing. It was great.
Believing in the good Jesus brings
As I got older, Mum began to change. She started praying and going to church. That’s where she really found God and strength for her life.
Sometimes mum felt judged [by others], but she threw herself into a relationship with God. She kept praying, kept reading her Bible, kept talking to God. I saw how faith gave her hope and slowly turned things around.
Later she met my stepdad at church, and he’s been wonderful for her and for us. Life started to settle when I was about 11.
Now I’m a mum myself with three girls. My husband and I run a business together. Life looks very different now. But I saw how faith in Jesus transformed my mum’s life and I’ve built my life on the same rock. Jesus is my anchor.”
Although we later went to a different church as a family, the Salvos first taught me about Jesus' love. The Salvos also showed me what generosity looks like.
The love of people who cared for us, encouraged me. It made me want to be that kind of person. Now I try to live that way — to give, to help, to be generous. Because I know what the difference it makes.
When you’ve been in that really hard place, you know what it means to be shown love. It’s not just faith, or even food or toys; it’s also someone caring enough to help.
Easter for me is about family, about being thankful, about going to church — but most of all, it is about the love of Jesus. His love totally transformed my mum’s life and totally transformed my life. I went through some very wild years, but his love kept drawing me back again and again.
His love is the rock my life is built on and I would be lost without it.”
*This is a true story shared in Ali’s words. Her name and some details have been changed to protect and honour her family.