A letter to you from the mother whose children were killed by their father

Melissa Little lost both her children and her husband in a shocking act that was felt around the country earlier this year.

In January, Melissa’s husband Damien shot himself and his two young sons Koda, four, and Hunter, nine months before driving off the Port Lincoln wharf in their family car.

Thousands of people around the country rallied around Melissa to support her in the wake of the terrible incident, with the community raising $84,000 to help her pay for funeral costs and bills.

Now Melissa, who is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her boys, has written a thank you letter to everyone who has offered their support and encouragement to her throughout this difficult time.

In the letter, published on the Facebook page ‘A Little Help’, Melissa thanked everyone who had written messages of support to her online or had donated their hard-earned money.

From Mel Little:
A sincere thank you…
I would like to express my gratitude to all who sent their thoughts and messages, prayers and wishes to me during what has been the hardest, most difficult time. The support I have received has been astounding and for this I am truly grateful.
I have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity. I can’t thank everyone enough for their financial contributions to ‘a little help’. Words cannot express how thankful I am and the feeling of gratitude I hold within. ‘A little help’ has meant that I can make some changes to help life be a little more bearable, ease some of the financial burden left behind and relieve the pressure of returning to work before I would be ready to do so. So please know I am extremely grateful from the bottom of my heart.
A special thank you to Kelly and Jade for the amazing idea and ongoing administration, to Phil at Bendigo Bank and to the thoughtful people who held fundraising events, without you guys this would not have happened.
It is positivity that helps make each day for me more bearable. For those who knew Damien, Koda and Hunter personally, continue to cherish the memories of their happy times and happy faces. And for those who did not know them personally please understand how I wish my family to be remembered, the happy fun loving times. My final message is for everyone… Hug your loved ones tight…. Tell them how much you love them and never let them go!

For support and information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800, or MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

What did you think about Melissa’s letter of thanks? Do you have a message of support for her?