And on top of that, the hunt for the brazen thief who stole the East Maitland woman's vehicle in the middle of the night on June 12 has hit a snag.

Almost one month has passed since the white Suzuki Swift left the driveway of her home and it's still missing.

There is a glimmer of hope though. A $5000 reward has been put on the table in return for information that leads to the car - and the thief.

Watch the security footage:

Ms Ling has urged the city to report any sightings of a Suzuki Swift with number plate CW45RP.

She has also encouraged anyone with information about the theft to come forward. After all, someone must know something.

"It would mean everything to me to get the car back," she said.

"For the first two weeks afterwards I struggled to sleep and I didn't want to leave the house."

Two months before the theft her East Maitland home was broken into and several items were stolen, including a spare car key.

The 20-year-old had comprehensive insurance on the car until she lost her job at the end of March due to COVID-19. After that she could not meet the monthly repayments.

Even with Youth Allowance and help from her partner it was still impossible to pay all of the bills and put food on the table.

She wasn't able to fall back on the JobSeeker program - which would have given her $1100 a fortnight - because the starting age for that support is 22.

"I bought the car brand new and it took me about five years to save up for the car. I've lost $20,000. I've only had the car for a bit over a year," she said.

"It was an amazing feeling to buy my first car, and look where I am now.

"I was paying the insurance up until I lost my job. I contacted the insurance company and they told me there was nothing they could do to help me."

Police investigations into the theft are ongoing.

Port Stephens-Hunter police have urged anyone with information about the car or the person who took it to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.