Tuesday, 26 March 2024
    Families seek help for first time
    12
    Jul
    Poverty

    Families seek help for first time

    The surging cost of living has forced more and more West Australians to seek help for the first time as they struggle to meet day-to-day expenses, including previously well-off double-income families, The West reports.

    Mother-of-two Helen spent more than two decades working in high-end events plus a stint with yacht interiors in Dubai before moving to Perth from South Africa with her husband John.

    But after losing her job in health administration, their family was reduced to one paycheck, which went backwards after her husband took a lower paying role to escape the rough and tumble of a resources sector job.

    With their daughters no longer at private school, the family is now renting a property in Perth’s southern suburbs and fear losing it when the lease expires in December.

    They’ve had to cancel their private health cover and are now faced with a big car repair bill after Helen crashed into a Lexus without vehicle insurance.

    Like so many families, groceries get cut back as they become more expensive.

    “We spread things. I don’t want our children to feel the impact too much. If I don’t eat dinner, the food will go a little bit further,” Helen said.

    “If I’ve had something for lunch or a couple of cups of tea in the afternoon, by the time dinner is ready, I’ll leave my portion of whatever there is and send it to work with my husband the next day.

    Recently, she started seeking help from hunger relief charity Foodbank but only after her friend Megan encouraged her to accept it.

    “I thought I’d see down and out, people like that, but they were normal people,” Helen said.

    FULL STORY

    Cost of living: Families seeking charity help for first time, mum skips dinner to ‘spread food further’ (The West)

    PHOTO

    Foodbank