From the deep pain of losing his daughter, spending time in prison, coping with his father’s death and being let go from his job, Ryan has faced one hardship after another.
Despite battling with these challenges, Ryan has always tried to find a way forward, having the determination to build a more stable life for himself. This year, with support from Aberdeen Cyrenians, Ryan was introduced to the Cash First Flexible Crisis Fund where things started to shift in his life for the better.
“If I hadn't received the funding from Cash First, I wouldn't be in the job I have right now. Cash First has really helped me to progress in life.”
Cash First came at a time when Ryan had just been offered a new job. Despite the good news, it was a tricky transition. He was now stuck in a position trying to cover the basics he needed in order to start working again.
“When Cash First was introduced to me, I had just been offered a new job where I had to do my training in Stirling,” he shares. “My employer thankfully covered the hotel costs but I still needed to sort my own food and essentials which I couldn’t have done without Cash First.”
“Part of the money went towards my priority bills whilst the other part went towards my daily essentials as I trained and some work items like uniform. If I hadn't received the funding from Cash First, I wouldn't be in the job I have right now. Cash First has really helped me to progress in life."
“Cash First has given me that financial freedom. There's a lot of stress and worry when you struggle to pay for essentials like rent or food.”
“With Cash First alleviating these feelings, I had the opportunity to concentrate on starting my new job and making that positive change in my life moving forward.”
Concluding with heartfelt appreciation, Ryan says: “Cash First is an important scheme and I believe it should continue. I think Cash First is more beneficial than having somebody continually use food banks for years on end. Instead of just patching the problem, Cash First is fixing it.”
