Christmas desperation for families facing cost struggle
When the Salvation Army asked Australians about their biggest concerns ahead of Christmas, a theme emerged.
“I feel bad that I can’t afford to buy gifts for everyone and the things I buy will be less this year than before,” one of them said.
Another said: “Paying bills, finding extra money to spend on special food and gifts. It’s going to be a struggle and I’ll have so much debt I can’t pay off in the new year.”
A third participant cannot see his family because he does not have money for a plane ticket, and he gives the remaining money after paying rent, gas, bills and food to his relatives.
These are some of the stories Salvation Army Commissioner Mark Campbell heard as people came to the charity for help in the run-up to Christmas.
She talked about a young couple whose husband had just started his own business and suffered a minor injury that forced him to quit while he was recovering.
Money wasn’t an issue until the accident left the couple without an income, forcing them to seek help from the Salvation Army.
“Whether there’s an accident, people have nowhere to stay, a big bill comes up, a car breaks down, it can happen almost overnight, but very quickly they find themselves in a situation where they can’t afford to move forward,” Mr Campbell told AAP.
More than 1.7 million Australians will reach out to a charity for help this Christmas, with more than half doing so for the first time, according to research by the Salvation Army.
One in five Australians are worried their child will miss out on gifts, while one in 10 fear their child will go hungry.
The concern is so serious that 1.1 million people do not talk to their children about Christmas because they cannot afford it, while 25 per cent cannot see family and friends due to financial constraints.
With rent and accommodation problems worsening and food and utility costs soaring, almost half of Australians are worried about facing Christmas; 20 percent forgo medical care, and more than 4.2 million people starve to death just to save on holiday expenses.
“It gets harder every year… Throughout the year and in the run-up to Christmas we have seen an increasing number of struggling families coming to us for help,” Mr Campbell said.
“Even half the year we see people are pretty desperate to survive.”
The charity aims to raise $29 million for its annual Christmas appeal to support those doing this challenging work.
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