While it’s welcome news for mortgage holders across the country, interest rate cuts will do very little to ease the growing demand for front line crisis support, such as Samaritans Emergency Relief (ER).
“We’ve had a 30% increase in people and families coming to see us compared to this time last year,”
“That’s just the number of people we are able to see as well – the demand is even greater.
“The people we are seeing are vulnerable – they are mostly renters or in social housing, or worse. They don’t have a mortgage or a house, so rate cuts won’t help them."
“Many are choosing to do without medication and prioritising food and rent.”
Samaritans – the social welfare arm of Newcastle Anglican – has ER centres located at Broadmeadow, Toronto, Cessnock, Taree, Gorokan, and Rutherford.
The centres provide support through food vouchers and parcels, electricity and gas vouchers, chemist assistance, and clothing and financial options.
Beth said the buy now, pay later schemes had left many people and families in dire financial situations post-Christmas.
“People on lower incomes are finding it difficult to manage their budgets with the cost of Christmas and children returning to school,” she said.
“They are getting trapped with buy now, pay later. A lot of people are turning up at our ER centres as soon as they get their Centrelink payment because they’ve got so many bits and pieces coming out of their payment.
“There’s also been a rise in requests for electricity and gas vouchers. That’s a state government scheme that we administer but we’re struggling to keep up with demand.”
