“SOMEONE is always worse off than you.”
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It’s a cliche but one Kathy Barber lives by.
Ms Barber, from Wodonga, finds time to give back to the community, all while she is living with chronic lung disease, fibromyalgia, osteoarthrosis and arthritis.
In three years, Ms Barber, 45, has knitted more than 150 scarves for Carevan.
“I wish I could do a bit more,” she said.
“But I’m basically housebound and I can’t do much out in the community.”
Ms Barber’s partner and carer, Paul Buckley, described her as having a big heart.
“She’ll spend two to three hours knitting every night without fail,” he said.
“I have to make sure she never runs out of wool.”
Ms Barber said knitting wasn’t just about providing the homeless with a bit of warmth when it is cold.
It was also about some emotional warmth, showing that someone cares.
“We’ve got enough to get us by,” she said.
“We’ve got a roof over our heads, each other and food on the table.
“But there are people who don’t and it is sad in this day and age that people can’t sit up to a meal each night.”
Knitting scarves not only helps the homeless but also Ms Barber.
“Night time is when the pain is at its worst so knitting helps take my mind off it and keeps me occupied,” she said.
“I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”
Ms Barber said she would continue to support the homeless in the only way she could — knitting scarves.
“There’s no judgment,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how the homeless got there, they need help.”