72 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019
products.Juliepointstoa Waikato
Universitystudythathasshownthat
thefoodmakesthebiggestimpact
onattendanceandlearning.
LastyearKidsCanexpandedto
includechildcarecentres.“Wewere
toldchildrenunderfivewerecrying
becausetheywerehungry.Many
hadnonappies,therewasnomoney
forformula.If familiesdidhave
formula,theywerewateringit down
tomakeit gofurther,”shesays.
“Theneedis sogreat.”
Shefeelsthereis growingawareness
ofthelevelofpovertyin NewZealand
butthere’sstilla lotofjudgement
aroundthecauses.
“[Peoplethink]if you’relivingin
povertyyoumustbetherebecause
ofwhatyou’redoingornotdoing.”
Butmanyfamiliesaretrapped
in a cycleofdespairanddeprivation
throughnofaultoftheirown.Julie
citeslowwagesandthehighcost
oflivingaskeyreasonsfamiliesslip
intopoverty.That,andthelackof
affordablehousing.
“Thegovernmentneedstobuild
socialhousing.Familiesabsolutely
deservea roofovertheirheadsand
tobeabletolivewithdignity.
“Everytwoyearswedoa ‘PorkPie’
minirunthelengthofthecountryfrom
KaitaiatoInvercargillfollowingthe
routeoftheminiin themovieGoodbye
PorkPie. Thisyear
wecan’tstayin
Kaitaiabecause
prettymuchevery
motelis booked
outbyWINZfor
homelessfamilies.”
Julievisits
KidsCanschools
asoftenasshe
canandshe
encouragesher
stafftodothesame.“It’simportant
thateveryoneis connectedtothekids
wehelp.Childrenareat thecentreof
everythingwedo.”
Hereyesfillwithconcernwhen
shetalksabouta littlegirlscrambling
tokeepupwithherclassmatesona
schoolcamp.Theywereclimbinga
hill.Onherfeetwerehermother’sbest
shoes – white flats. They were three
sizestoobigforhersoherteacherhad
tapedthemtoherfeet.It wasthebest
herfamilycoulddo.Julieis indignant.
Whyshouldthatlittlegirlhaveto
struggletoparticipatein theway
shewantsto?
Juliehasnochildrenof herown.“My
petsaremyfamily.”Shehasninecats.
“That’soneawayfrombeinga crazy
catwoman,”shesayswitha laugh.One
is blind,oneis deaf,onehasoneeyeand
anotherhasa holein theheart.Most
arerescuedfromthestreet.Shealsohas
threedogsandtwogoatsontherural
propertyshe
shareswithher
secondhusband,
CainChapman.
Theymetwhen
shewas 17 and
he 18 butthey
eventuallysplit
andmarried
otherpeople.
Yearslater,they
reconnectedon
Facebookand,asJulietellsit, hecame
overforpizzaandneverleft.They’ve
beenmarriedsevenyears.
“He’sa rockforme.He’sblackand
white,a practicalperson.I’mslightly
neurotic.He’snotat all.”
Hewas,shesays,anincrediblesupport
whenherbelovedparentsdiedfour
yearsago.Theywerea closefamily,
Alice, Kenneth and Julie. Two weeksafterAlicediedofmotorneurone
disease,Julie’sdad,Kenneth,was
diagnosedwithterminalcancer.
“Itwasa horrificexperience,
losingMumandDad,”shesays.
“IremembersayingtoCain,‘I’m
nevergoingtobehappyagain.’
Thenonemorningthefoglifted.”
That’s whenthis“doer”beganto
throwherselfintoherlatestproject.
Whenherfatherwasdying,heasked
whatshewantedtodowiththe
moneyfromthesaleofhishouse.
It wasthenshetoldhimabouther
planfora petrefuge.
“I’vealwayswantedtodo
somethingforanimals,”sheexplains.
She’dbecomeawarethatwomen
wereoftendelayingleavingabusive
relationshipsbecausetheywereafraidof
whatwouldhappentotheirpets.Julie
herselfenduredanabusiverelationship
in her20s.“Itshowsyouhoweasyit is
forwomentobecometrapped.I already
knewabouttheworkof Women’sRefuge
[sheworkedin a refugeafterleaving
school]butit creepsuponyou.I was
alwaysadamantit wasnevergoingto
happentome.[But]hewasjealousand
controlling.”Sheeventuallydidpluck
upthecouragetoleave,andremainsa
staunchadvocateofthemovement.
ThePetRefugewillbecomea reality
nextyear.It’stakenfouryearstogetto
thebuildingstage.Sheshowsmeplans
forwhatlookslikea ratherbeautiful
familyhome– justwhatyou’dexpect
fromsomeonewithsucha heartfor
animals.She’susedherinheritance
plussomehelpfromher“awesome”
mother-in-law.
It hasn’tbeena totallysmoothride.
Therewasvocaloppositionfromsome
neighbours,whoapparentlyfearednoise
pollutionanddangerouscharactersbeing
drawntothearea.ButJulieremainsstoic.
“Nothinggoodis evereasy,”shetells
mefirmly.
If JulieChapmanhasprovenanything,
it’sthatshecanmakethingshappen.And
thereis nothingliketheneedsofothers,
whethertheybehungrychildrenorpets
requiringshelter from abuse, to spur
her on.AW WThe Judy Bailey interview
“Children underfive
were cryingbecause
they werehungry.
Many had no nappies.
The need was great.”
AnimalloverJulieplanstoopena
refugetohousethepetsofwomen
leaving abusive relationships.