Margaret Matthews' proudest achievement is that her children haven't slipped through the cracks. She talks about a university degree that one of them started, how another worked at a fast food outlet in her teens to help support herself, how another, even though he dropped out of school at 14, went on to finish year 12.
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She's always done it tough. When her first husband died in 1978 she had three young children under eight; her family expanded during another relationship in the 1980s, welcoming four more children. By 1990, when that relationship ended, Ms Matthews had seven children under 19. In 1992 she had another son. The former public servant has not worked since 1978.
"When my youngest daughter was 16 I thought I could get back into the workforce, but I didn't have the computer skills, I wasn't familiar with technology, so much had changed," she said.
"And I was 54, I didn't have youth on my side, if I went for a job as a housemaid or a kitchen hand, my age would have affected my ability to do the job as well."
She was also suffering from anxiety and stress, and went on a disability pension. Now 66, she is on the aged pension and living in public housing. Her eldest son died earlier this year and another of her sons, now in his 40s and who lost his partner in 2011, has lived with his mother on and off for the past five years.
One thing Ms Matthews has learnt is that you should never be too proud to ask for help. She turned to Anglicare about 10 years ago for help with things such as food and toiletries, the occasional bill.
Anti-Poverty Week runs until October 22, highlighting the plight of Canberra's poor. St John's Care Director, Stuart Davis-Meehan, said he was shocked by the level of homelessness in Canberra when he moved here about 12 months ago.
"There's somewhere between 1700 and 2000 people in the ACT who have been homeless in the past month, and there are so many people living week to week. It doesn't take much for the wheels to fall off."
He said housing affordability and domestic violence were crucial problems for the community to consider when addressing homelessness.
"We see about 20 people every business day who can't afford to buy food for themselves or for their family ... who would have thought that in Canberra people would have to seek assistance just to eat properly or eat at all."
Anti-poverty Week is a national event and here in the ACT more than 30 events will be held across the week including the launch of research, an awards ceremony for the school writing competition Pens Against Poverty, community lunches and morning teas, church services, and more.
