Emergency Relief Program
CSF’s Emergency Relief (ER) Program has had another busy
financial year recording 16,634 instances of ER provision
compared with 15,450 in the previous reporting period. 9,504
of these were instances of funded ER provision, with 7,130
being in-kind support - which includes clients who visit CSF
to take bread, fresh fruit/ vegetables and other perishable
items without necessarily waiting to see a community worker
(interviewer).
This financial year our ER program distributed more than
$500,000 in financial and material aid assistance to people
living within Frankston. This is quite astonishing considering
that Federal ER Grant funding has remained at a lesser amount
(following the 2015 cuts), but this does exemplify CSF’s ability
to respond positively to adverse changes, at both funding and
front-line service levels.
Over the reporting period, CSF volunteers distributed more ER
assistance in a 12-month period to disadvantaged people in
Frankston than in the organisation’s history. The rising rate of
homelessness in Frankston, as per the census housing data, is
also reflected in our statistics, with a steady increase in people
without housing seeking ER.
In terms of ER (financial aid) provided to clients, an additional
$43,054 was given out in the reporting period - compared
with the previous financial year - to people in Frankston
experiencing financial hardship. This included the distribution
of an additional $24,664 in food cards (totalling $151,641), as
well as providing $16,103 to help people with car registration
and repairs - with a growing number of people reduced to
living in their car - compared with $10,020 in the previous
reporting period.
Other major ER expenditure categories included funds spent
on our pantry food, $21,027 (increase of $4,084), essential
pharmaceutical, dental, optical and other medical costs
$10,147 (increase of $2,610), utility bills $9,022 (increase of
$1,036) as well as $27,047 towards rent in arrears, rent in
advance, and crisis accommodation for people in a housing
crisis. CSF receives no government funding for housing, but
continues to work closely with WAYSS and SalvoCare Eastern
to help people to gain or remain in housing.
CSF’s in-kind donations have also continued to grow, with a
conservative estimate of $239,689 in food and other material
goods being donated and distributed to clients, compared
with $216,716 in the previous reporting period. OzHarvest
was our single largest provider of recovered foods, delivering
11,474kgs of food, which they estimate to be 34,421 meals.
Community Support Frankston
Issues reported by our volunteers showed an increase in
presentations from people who are struggling with a range
of complex problems, including (but not exclusive to) more
people requesting help due to domestic violence, debt, mental
health, prison release and general health-related problems.
More often that not, people who re-present at CSF for
financial and material support simply can’t manage to live
on government-supported payments - particularly those
on a Newstart Allowance. CSF had a 20% increase in people
presenting and needing budgeting advice, and in many cases
there simply wasn’t enough income versus understandable
expenditure.
Breakdown of Client Issues - 01.07.17 to 30.06.18
DEBT/UTILITIES
2016-2017 ACCOMMODATION
12%
19%
TRANSPORT
5%
SUPPORT
SERVICES
4%
EDUCATION
3%
EMPLOYMENT
2%
PAPERWORK
2%
LEGAL
7%
INCOME
18%
HEALTH
28%
There were 8967 client issues identified by our volunteers in
the reporting period, with the significant major category areas
being health (2572), followed by accommodation (1742) and
income (1576). Our total number of enquiries - which extends
to the information and advocacy side of CSF services - totalled
21,314, which represents a decrease from last year, but this
isn’t surprising with increased face-to-face encounters.
There was an increase in face-to-face assistance: 11,878
compared to 10,250 in the previous reporting period. With
more people coming to CSF asking for help, this puts increased
time pressure on our volunteers to record all client issues and
enquiries - instead prioritising less extensive wait times for our
often distressed clients.
Breakdown of client income sources showed that people
trying to survive on a Newstart Allowance made up 44% of
those receiving financial assistance, with those on Disability
Support making up 30%. Countries of birth breakdown show
that people from 66 countries other than Australia were
provided with ER assistance.
People born in New Zealand and Great Britain were the most
frequent countries of birth other than Australia. In terms of
Material Aid encounters by gender, CSF had a higher frequency
of male encounters (57%) compared with females .
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Annual Report 2018
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