Over-stretched Salvation Army Maroubra struggles to help the homeless and hungry

Rising cost of living and labour shortages are hurting the only Salvation Army branch in Sydney’s east as it struggles to give people the help they need, its Corp Officer says.

Skyrocketing rent and cost of living pressures is severely impacting The Salvation Army’s ability to help people in need in Sydney’s east.

Not only has labour shortages and stretched resources left the charity struggling to feed the regular people who rely on its free lunches or those who use its temporary housing accommodation, but many people are finding themselves needing support for the first time in their lives.

That’s according to the Corps Officer of Salvation Army Eastern Beaches, Joanne Williams, who says the team can’t keep up with demand.

“We’ve had to turn people away,” she said. “People are finding it hard to pay rent, bills and electricity and buy food.

“We do free meals for people doing it tough, hand out OzHarvest (packages) and do emergency relief pampers, but OzHarvest are feeling the pinch in terms of drivers so sometimes they can’t deliver stuff and we have no bags”.

Captain Joanne Williams with Mary at her Salvation Army Wednesday lunch. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

Ms Williams said many people coming to the Salvation Army for help were on the brink of homelessness, including one woman aged in her 60s whose pension takes up her entire rental payments.

Another young couple were paying $500 each to share one bedroom in a sharehouse, an amount taking up their entire Centrelink payment.

The Salvation Army’s 'Tiny Home' is not always full despite facing high demand. Picture: John Appleyard

The domino effect of higher living costs meant the Salvation Army’s Tiny Home Accommodation in Maroubra was also facing increased demand, but Ms Williams lacked the resources to keep it occupied all the time.

The 3.6m-long home on wheels, with one bedroom and a bathroom, was donated to the charity in 2018 so the homeless had a safe space to sleep while they found alternative accommodation.

“We need someone to clean the house and look after it and we just don’t have that, so at the moment the house isn’t always full,” Ms Williams said.

Adding to the problem was the complexity of issues many people in need were facing, Ms Williams said.

Salvation Army volunteer Connie Gonez prepares the Salvos Maroubra community lunch. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

Many people suffering a mix of mental illness, addiction and trauma were falling deeper into chronic homelessness as the cost of living continued to rise.

Ms Williams said the Salvation Army needed a full-time support worker to help people get to Centrelink, fill in forms and do tasks that others can do easily but which overwhelm them — particularly those who have experienced domestic violence.

In an effort to address the issue of affordable housing in Sydney’s east, Randwick Council passed a motion at a recent meeting to call on the state government to increase “the number of social housing units and homes in the LGA accommodate the homeless, many of whom are recent victims of the economic and health crisis”.

Council also voted to “investigate what more can be done through our social and community assistance programs to help and assist those community members who have been impacted by this health and economic crisis” and request an audit of the condition of all social housing in the LGA.

Independent councillor Noel D’Souza, who brought forward the motion along with Greens councillor and deputy mayor Kim Chapple, said having a job was no longer a guarantee someone will have a house.

“Rental prices have skyrocketed. Despite working six days a week, some people still don’t have a place to call home,” he said.

“It feels for many they are going in a circle. All they want is to give their families something nice and safe. Fifteen thousand Australians are homeless. It is time to transform their pain into action.”