Ann finds her church family at Parramatta Salvos
- May 15
- 3 min read
BY LAUREN MARTIN
Ann was living in her car with her four children when a support worker suggested she go to the nearest Salvation Army centre for food and other assistance. That centre was the Parramatta Corps in Sydney’s west, where Ann found belonging and reconnection with Jesus.
“You feel like a complete failure,” says Ann about her experience of homelessness with her children. “It wasn’t just going without; it was the physical and mental toll that it took on me to see my children suffering … living in a car with no blankets and no pillows.
“What food I could get, I fed my kids.”
Ann was unable to provide her kids with the basic life essentials that millions of Australians take for granted – a shower, a pillow, and a hairbrush to detangle her child’s hair before school. After suffering through more than 20 years of domestic violence, the humiliation of homelessness nearly broke her.
“God only gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers because he knows they will come through the other side, and that was my belief and what kept me going,” she remembers.
When Ann met Major Kylie Collinson and the team at Parramatta Salvos, she received more than material support. “They made me feel loved and appreciated and welcomed into the community.”
After receiving initial assistance and finally securing housing, Ann began volunteering at the corps’ Market Day on Wednesdays. A fellow volunteer then invited her to church.
“I was a little bit hesitant to walk in,” she says, citing some bad experiences has had in church when she was a child. “But what I found was The Salvation Army is completely different from any other church. The community there were so friendly and loving.”
She says reconnecting with her faith and seeing her children make their own decision to follow Jesus have been life-changing. “My twins have just become adherents,” she says. “I cried. I was so proud!”
Her youngest son has become a Junior Soldier, and her seven-year-old daughter is preparing to do the same. The kids love attending Salvation Army camps in Collaroy; the older teens go to Parramatta Salvos Youth; and one of the highlights of the year for the family is attending Parramatta Corps’ weekend away.
“I used to find it very difficult to trust people,” says Ann. “But I can talk to them about anything. They know my story; they have not judged me. Whether you’re covered in tattoos and piercings, whether you have drug or alcohol problems, the Salvos don’t judge.”
Major Kylie says it’s been a privilege for her and the corps community to journey alongside the family.
“Ann is a great mum and Ray [Ann’s partner] … are great parents. Their kids are fantastic. Our community has really embraced this beautiful family in lots of different ways,” the corps officer said.
Earlier this year, the corps family threw a birthday party for Ann. It was the first time in her life that her birthday had been celebrated. Kylie says, “And last week, Ann asked me if I would conduct their wedding next year, which is really exciting!”
After the birth of her youngest child, Ann asked Kylie to dedicate her. At the same time, Parramatta Corps officers and leaders dedicated all of Ann’s other children. It was a public symbol of the family’s inward commitment to God and to their church: Parramatta Salvation Army.
“This corps is one of the most amazing places I have ever walked into,” says Ann. “The people here uplift you. They make you feel wanted and needed. They have changed mine and my children’s lives in so many ways.”
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