Christmas Appeal launched to assist peak in demand

L-R :Heather Kent ( Vinnies chief Executive Officer) , Eric  Welsh ( Member), Corey McGrath (State President)

The St Vincent De Paul Society (Vinnies) is asking Tasmanians to dig deep for their Christmas Appeal, as it is seeing unprecedented demand for its services, and emergency relief efforts are at an all-time high.

The $250,000 Christmas Appeal target is needed now, more than ever, as more Tasmanians seek help from Vinnies for the first time and thousands of families are expected to need help in December.

Vinnies’ member Eric Welsh is an emergency relief volunteer who is seeing a significant increase in people coming to the Launceston Emergency Relief Hub this year.

“I generally volunteer for a day a week and it is clear that more people are coming in seeking food relief as they struggle with higher grocery prices,” Mr Welsh said.

“There are more and more new faces coming into our Emergency Relief Hub in Boland St Launceston, with people also seeking assistance with rental payments and bills as prices for power and other services increase.

“I am also coordinating our annual Christmas Hamper program for the northern region of the state where we are expecting to assist over 350 families this year in the northern region alone.

“I have been volunteering for three years and I’m concerned for a lot of people this Christmas. I like to put myself in the other person’s shoes and think if that was me, I’d like to know that someone would help me,” he said.

Recent Foodbank data shows the size of the problem, with 54,000 Tasmanian households in the past year skipping meals or going entire days without eating.

Food insecurity is now being experienced in homes it has never touched before, with 77 per cent of food insecure households experiencing it for the first time in the past year.

Vinnies has Emergency Relief Hubs in all regions around the state and the annual Christmas Appeal is vital to help resource these with what they need.

St Vincent de Paul Society CEO Heather Kent said that their October data has their emergency relief teams preparing for what is expected to be a record demand for their services over Christmas.

“More than 13 per cent of all requests for assistance in October were for individuals and families that previously hadn’t been assisted and 57 per cent of all requests were for food relief.

“Young Tasmanians and families made up the majority of requests, with 54 per cent coming from people aged between 25 and 49 years.

“For most of us, Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, but for far too many Tasmanians it is a time for stress, guilt and worry as the pressures of the festive season and back-to-school period loom large.

“By donating to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal, you will be directly helping vulnerable Tasmanians to pay their rent, put a tank of fuel in the car, buy medicines, purchase back-to-school supplies and literally put food on the table.

“$250,000 might seem like a big target, but we have done it before and now, more than ever, we need to do it again. Every donation helps – no matter how small, it will make a big difference.

“Vinnies is always grateful for the generosity of the Tasmanian community and the many businesses and schools that raise money and donate to Vinnies Christmas Appeal,” Ms Kent said.

Vinnies Christmas Appeal is open now. To donate, please visit the Vinnies Tasmania website: www.vinniestas.org.au, or donate at a Vinnies Store or Vinnies office near you.

*Key Statistics:

In the last 12 months, 84,000 households in Tasmania experienced food insecurity.
This number represents 18,000 more households than 2022 that are struggling to put food on the table.
The number one reason households in Tasmania struggle to meet their food needs is the cost-of-living crisis (87 %).
33 per cent of food insecure households in Tasmania have mortgages.

(*Source – Foodbank Hunger Report – 2023)