Financial counsellor profile – Buffy Kerekes from the Zahra Foundation in SA
Video link here.
Why did you become a financial counsellor?
I reached a point in a previous career where I was looking for something that had deeper meaning. And I started studying community service and I was drawn to working with people who were in financial hardship.
I think financial stress can be quite isolating. So, I was really drawn to working alongside people who were experiencing that.
What’s the most rewarding part of your work?
Seeing the change in the clients. Seeing them come in where they’re feeling overwhelmed and struggling with hope. Seeing that change, seeing the confidence grow in their financial situation. Seeing them have the tools and resources that they can then move forward with their life and move forward with confidence as well.
Can you share a specific moment for a client that reminded you why this work really matters?
I had a client who came to me and she had significant debt and the debt was a result of coercive control. She was in an abusive relationship for many years and walked out of that relationship.
What we find with a lot of women is when they’re constantly getting phone calls from creditors or receiving emails, phone calls, letters on debts that were from that previous relationship – they are still feeling trapped in the relationship.
So, with this particular client, after the debts were cleared, we were then able to move on and work with her on the financial literacy as money was something that she had never had access to before. She now has savings, she has a savings goal, she’s working full time, she’s thriving.
What kinds of issues are you most commonly helping people with right now?
We are seeing a lot of women come through who are falling through the cracks. They are having to flee their home due to safety. Community Housing is not an option for them because they have assets. Free legal service is not an option for them because they have assets. And so, these women are really falling through the cracks. So, this is, I think, is a really big systemic issue at the moment.
And the other one – we’re also seeing women coming through that have been coerced into taking out their superannuation, but have not had the benefit of that.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I think the work that we do is demanding and has a mental load as well, so I’m a big advocate for self-care. I think looking after yourself is essential to the work that we do. I would just be advocating for financial counselors to be really mindful of their self-care and being able to disconnect at the end of the day.