Sydney Australia
More than 40 per cent of Australian families are suffering financial stress and emotional pressure this Christmas, according to the Salvation Army.
And 83 per cent of families seeking assistance from the Christian organisation say they cannot afford Christmas presents for their children, survey results across NSW and the rest of Australia show.
More than 40 per cent of Australian families are suffering financial stress this Christmas, say the Salvation Army. PICTURE: Courtesy of the Salvation Army.
Major David Collinson, the Salvos’ NSW public relations secretary, says families are struggling after losing their jobs through the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and being cut off from Federal Government assistance, but they still have to meet the rising costs of living.
Collinson said it was no surprise that more people are seeking assistance from the Salvos as a result.
“It isn’t a surprise. We were probably expecting that because there’s been more restrictions this year, there’s been more job losses, there’s been less government support; all those things have been contributing factors,” he said.
Recent polling by the Salvos found 10.5 million Australians – or 40.7 per cent – felt more stressed about their finances this year, while “83 per cent of Australia’s hardest hit [are] struggling to afford Christmas presents for their children”.
The data shows 13.8 per cent of Australians are worried about being able to afford enough food to eat and 20.6 per cent are worried about paying their utilities, the organisation said in a statement.
“This rises to a disturbing 71 per cent and 57 per cent respectively, amongst those who have accessed the Salvos’ Doorways Emergency Relief services,” it said.
As well, 56 per cent are worried about not being able to afford a special meal on Christmas Day, 51 per cent are worried and stressed about their mental health, 36 per cent feel lonely and isolated and 44 per cent do not feel important to others.
The survey results of 1,164 people who accessed its ‘Doorways’ program, as well as 2000 people surveyed by market research company Pureprofile, have been released as the organisation launches its annual Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, hoping to raise $A20 million to help the needy and vulnerable.
Collinson says the nature of a commercial Christmas means people feel pressure to spend money they don’t have, but changing the narrative about the real message of Christmas was difficult.
“There’s definitely pressure, but children are all in schools, they’re in communities – that’s what they see, that’s what their peers are getting so there’s pressure on the parents to perform to their expectations. And it’s obviously in the media.”
He said their research had shown the increased need was “across the board”, with people coming to them for help in the past six months who they had never seen before.
He spoke about one family, whose three children were doing their homework during lockdown on a smart phone because they didn’t have a working computer.
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On a national level, Major Bruce Harmer, the Salvation Army’s national public relations secretary, said in a statement the pandemic had had a huge impact on the nation’s well-being.
It had “greatly increased the percentage of Australians feeling huge pressure about their finances and their emotional wellbeing, with ever- increasing numbers turning to the Salvos for emergency food, support to pay their bills, as well as seeking our help to cope with their stress, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness”, Harmer said.
“We know that Christmas time, and its additional financial and emotion burdens, always intensifies these issues for people, but the extended period of managing the pandemic over the last two years, lockdowns and the related economic fallout, has been devasting for even more Australians. As always, the Salvos are here to lend a hand to anyone in need.”
Money raised by the annual Christmas Appeal would typically help provide more than 64,000 hampers and vouchers, provide hundreds of thousands of gifts and toys, more than 130,000 meals and 66,000 beds for those in need of accommodation.
“Christmas is the busiest time of the year for The Salvos. This is on top of our work year-round in areas such as homelessness, family and domestic violence, youth work, natural disaster support and emergency financial relief,” Harmer said.
“Our 2020 survey of the general population showed that 76 per cent of Australians were looking forward to Christmas. The fact that this has dropped to 68 per cent this year is telling, and reflects the huge ongoing challenges being faced by all Australians right now.”
Those wishing to donate to the Salvos Christmas appeal can do so online at salvationarmy.org.au or by calling 13 72 58.
