St Vincent de Paul Society NSW makes a real impact to flood-affected communities

The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW has provided a total of $3.2 million in direct financial assistance to close to 6,400 people affected by the Northern Rivers floods and continues to provide ongoing material assistance.

The Vinnies Flood Appeal raised just over $2.5 million and we contributed $1 million of Society funds to ensure we could assist as many people as possible.

Renata’s house was severely inundated by floodwaters, rendering her home one of the more than 3,000 declared uninhabitable in the region.

“Every cent that comes in, whether it’s a meal voucher, whether it’s substantial, is just so helpful and so welcome at the moment for the whole community.

“A little bit of money makes a huge amount of difference to people like us, every cent to rebuild and start again and pick ourselves up – it’s enormous,” she said.

Colin, a resident of Coraki, also received an emergency grant from the Society.

“I’m amazed at the generosity, money’s been put in my account which is going to help me pay new bonds, it’s incredible,” he said.

“Because Vinnies has people on the ground in hundreds of communities throughout NSW, we had people helping even before the floods hit,” St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Regional Director – Flood Response, Clare Van Doorn, said.

Suzanne Nichols is the President of the Lismore St Vincent de Paul Society Conference and she says providing an ear to listen can be so important in the wake of a disaster.

“To see the destruction in the CBD is what really hit me; the floods in 2017 were bad, but not to this extent.”

“We’re trying to give people time to talk and share their stories.

“It’s the same story over and over again – their home’s destroyed and they’ve lost everything – many are walking around in the clothes that they escaped in and their handbag or wallet,” she said.

For material assistance please call 13 18 12.

To help us continue to support local communities please donate to the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal at www.vinnies.org.au/nswfloodappeal or call 13 18 12.