When Sonya and her children lived in Invercargill Sonya worked as a cleaner, she also had a second job but nobody was ever told what it was. Working nights Sonya decided that if she was to hire a baby sitter this would have an effect on her weekly drug allowance. This resulted in her 7 and 10 year old being left at home alone in south Invercargill for at least 9 hours at a time. When she returned Sonya went straight to bed until late afternoon leaving her children to fend for themselves.

When all 3 of Sonya’s children lived with her in Alexandra they were neglected, malnourished, and abused.

For Breakfast lunch and dinner the choices were rice bubble, wheat bix or toast. The cupboards were empty, the fridge was empty but Sonya’s Marijuana stash was plentiful.

During 2013 Sonya’s hot water cylinder began to leak, instead of getting a plumber or her land lord to fix it she drained it and turned it off for the last 6-7 months before she moved to Dunedin. Resulting in no hot water for her children, forcing the two oldest to shower at friends houses and even the local youth workers. How Sonya showered is unknown.