Annual Report 2012 - Lifeline Darling Downs

Emergency Relief
Lifeline Darling Downs & South West Queensland Ltd 2012 Annual Report
By Debbie Tanzer, Emergency Relief Support Worker
From January to August the Emergency Relief Program has assisted 758 clients, 352 of
these clients were new to Lifeline. During this time 516 food packs were issued along with
436 food vouchers totaling $44,095.00. 142 utility and rent payments totaling $33,943.32
and other assistance for furniture, nappies, blankets and medication was also issued.
The overwhelming demand for Emergency Relief (ER) assistance has increased in the last
month with approximately 83 people turned away in August alone. Rent payment problems
have been the dominating issue presented during support sessions as people struggle to
survive on limited incomes while the cost of living continues to rise. Many Emergency Relief
clients are the recipients of the Newstart allowance, or another government benefit, which is
not sufficient to live on.
We are now seeing the trend shift again to electricity bills with clients presenting electricity
bills of $800 and higher. The use of heaters for warmth in Winter accounting for some of
those huge accounts, coupled with the slow 50% rise in electricity costs over the last four
years, has impacted heavily on families.
Housing also continues to be a huge issue in the Toowoomba area. Escalating rents, job
redundancies and not enough public housing have seen some families and individuals
homeless, living in their cars or forced to make camp at the Toowoomba showground. Many
are also forced to board with family or friends creating stress on all parties and making the
quality of life less than ideal. Lifeline Emergency Relief has a strong alliance with The Red
Cross Homestay Team, and we are often called on to work alongside them in keeping clients
in their homes.
The Emergency Relief food packs have provided a vital back up to the support session
assistance offered. The packs are designed for approximately a two day supply of food until
further assistance, if needed, can be given. The staple items in the food packs are pasta,
rice, cereal, milk, tinned spaghetti, tinned baked beans, noodles, pasta sauce, instant potato
as well as any other extra donated items. The mainstream items are ordered from Coles and
are delivered each month. We also have a contract with ALDI Supermarkets who supply
Emergency Relief with bread, fruit and vegetables and some non-perishable items. These
items are within the use by date but not long after, so need to be used quickly although with
the use of a fridge and freezer we are able to make some items last a little longer.
A team of 5 dedicated volunteers, pick up the food from ALDI and assemble the food packs
for clients, these can number anywhere from 3 to 12 per Emergency Relief Day. Without
these volunteers we could not provide this service to our clients. The Emergency Relief
program has also acquired a volunteer intern to assist with clients in support sessions and to
research further some ways to empower and encourage clients in finding a more positive
way to manage some of the issues that clients present to us, once they leave the ER support
session. An example of this is that we are currently working on an information pack to give
to clients which includes budget tips, recipes, bill payment plan options and information on
further support organizations. It is also hoped to introduce workshops for cooking, budgets
etc. Many of these suggestions have been requested by our clients.
can then go through and choose their
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