St. Vincent de Paul Society teams up with Presbyterian Care to assist Tasmania’s vulnerable

The St. Vincent de Paul Society (Tas) has joined forces with Presbyterian Care to deliver crucial services to Tasmanians in need.

The arrangement, which was ratified in late May, will see Presbyterian Care assist with funding programmes, such as food, clothing, and emergency relief. Vinnies link with Presbyterian Care will also extend into working with New Mornings, a Christian, not-for-profit, volunteer mental health support service based in Ulverstone.

New Mornings works with an experienced core of volunteers include experienced doctors, teachers, teacher aides, nurses, counsellors, business managers, church ministers, chaplains, and pastoral carers to deliver services to those in need of mental health support.

St. Vincent de Paul Society State President, Mark Gaetani, said that the Society is committed to ecumenical and inter-faith cooperation with organisations that shared Vinnies values of caring for people in need.

Quoting from The Rule, the charter that governs the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Mr Gaetani said that the St Vincent de Paul Society recognises, accepts, and encourages the call to ecumenical and inter- faith dialogue, shared initiatives, and cooperation that arise from its charitable activities.

“The Society welcome this opportunity to work with Presbyterian Care and New Mornings to offer those in need, including people suffering with mental health issues, with the vital services they need to keep them safe during such a difficult time in their lives,” Mr Gaetani said.

“A Joint statement made on May 7 by AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, and leading mental health experts, Professor Ian Hickie AC and Professor Patrick McGorry AC, suggested that Australia is facing a situation where between an extra 750 and 1500 more suicides may occur annually, in addition to the 3,000 plus lives that are lost to suicide already every year. Furthermore, this tragically higher rate is likely to persist for up to five years if the economic downturn, due to COVId-19, lasts more than 12 months. Such a death rate is likely at this stage to overshadow the number of deaths in Australia directly attributable from to COVID-19 infection.

“Their modelling suggests that Australia will experience a 25 percent increase in suicides. If the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Presbyterian Care, and New Mornings can do anything to reduce this rate and save lives – especially young lives – our cooperative stance on offering emergency assistance is extremely worthwhile,” Mr Gaetani added.

Chief Executive Officer of Presbyterian Care, Mr Matt Durose, said that the organisation is pleased to be able to work alongside two well-established organisations committed to assisting vulnerable individuals and families along the North-West and West Coasts of Tasmania.

“We are yet to fully understand the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but we believe our partnership with Vinnies and New Mornings will assist to proactively respond to the existing and emerging needs facing Tasmanians over the coming months,” Mr Durose said.