Fighting to keep families housed amid growing need
CEO Ian Harris and Marketing Director Dessi Mitzeva at the Nambour Op Shop have put out the call for donations to help keep families in their homes.
THE HEAD of a Sunshine Coast charity which supports battlers trying to keep a roof over their heads says there is no sign of the need abating.
Aus Living Support helped 284 families who were struggling with their rent or mortgage repayments last financial year.
The charity provides up to $200 a week in assistance to people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves unable to pay their rent or mortgages.
Chief executive officer Ian Harrison put out the call for donations to help keep locals in their homes as many continued to struggle to make ends meet.
“We’re currently getting four applications a week for rental support. It’s not easing off,” he said.
‘Many are single mums with kids’
Mr Harrison said many of those needing help had children in the household and many were women.
“Many are single mums with kids and there are a lot of ladies over 55 that now find themselves single and haven’t had a lot of experience paying bills etcetera,” he said.
“There’s certainly more demand than usual.
“A lot of the single mums have gone through divorce situations and have gone from double incomes to single incomes and are struggling to find the difference to make the rent.
“We all know that the cost of living is going up so there’s that as well.”
Mr Harrison said people were often able to recover after a little help getting past a financial hump.
“If you can keep them where they are, they can often get their lives back on track but if they don’t have a home, it gets more difficult for them to do that,” he said.
Mr Harrison said people were generally referred to Aus Living Support by other services.
Aus Living Support’s work extends from Gympie to Caloundra and is funded through donations and two op shops.
Mr Harrison said the charity could offer financial support for eight weeks before reviewing a case.
“We find people often aren’t asking for a lot. Often, before we get to the end of the eight weeks, they ring us up and say, ‘I’ve got a new job,’ and they don’t need any more help,” he said.
“We’re lucky. We’ve also had landlords put the money back into our account for us. That’s the Sunshine Coast for you,” he said.
Donations towards Aus Living Support’s work can be made through its website, www.auslivingsupport.org.au.