KERANG charitable organisations have been inundated with requests for help in recent months as the cost of living continues to soar.
Kerang/Murrabit Conference of St Vincent dePaul Society president Maria Lewis said calls for assistance had increased threefold in recent weeks.
“A lot of people are really struggling,” Ms Lewis said.
“In the fortnight coming up to Easter, we have been fairly busy.”
Ms Lewis said the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of rental properties and the rising cost of living had attributed to the increase of people seeking assistance.
While each individual case is assessed separately, Ms Lewis said there was a cross-section of people experiencing hardship within the Gannawarra shire.
“Housing is a big issue,” Ms Lewis said.
The influx of city dwellers moving to regional areas during the pandemic also placed extra pressure on the local housing market.
“Lots of people moved from the city to the country and purchased properties which meant there’s less rentals available,” Ms Lewis said, noting there were instances where homeless people were sleeping by the river, couch surfing or sleeping in their cars.
These sentiments were echoed by Kerang Neighbourhood House manager Meg Stewart, who said a lack of affordable housing within the shire had impacted many residents.
“There’s a growing number of people who are experiencing housing pressure with few rental properties available in town,” Ms Stewart said.
“People looking for housing are being pushed into short-term accommodation which is expensive and insecure.”
She said Kerang Neighbourhood House had also witnessed an increase in the number of people experiencing hardship and seeking help locally.
Between January and March, Kerang Neighbourhood House assisted more than 500 people, compared to 238 during the same period last year.
Ms Stewart said when COVID support payments started to roll back, the demand for assistance increased accordingly.
“There has been a steady increase in people needing food relief over the last few months as fuel and food costs escalate,” Ms Stewart said.
“Many are citing cost of living pressures as the need for help.”
