The Salvation Army has released new research showing many regional Australians are suffering from extreme housing stress, family violence and living on the breadline.
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The data from the Army’s National Economic and Social Impact Survey (ESIS) was released just days before dozens of bucket-wielding volunteers canvas Maitland streets for the Red Shield Appeal.
The troubling statistics have prompted one member of the Army to call on Maitland residents to donate their time to the appeal.
A gesture, he said, that would be far more valuable than money.
Over the last few years the ESIS has been released in the lead-up to the Army’s major donation drive to paint a picture of the scale and scope of entrenched poverty in Australia.
At a glance, this year the survey found 68 per cent of the Salvation Army’s clients are living in private rental properties or paying off a mortgage experienced extreme housing stress – using nearly two thirds of their disposable income on accommodation.
In addition, nearly 1 in 5 are either homeless or living in temporary accommodation.
It also identified family violence as the leading factor in housing transiency.
The report concluded people from regional towns and rural areas are over-represented in the survey, as are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Long-time volunteer with the Maitland branch of the Salvation Army, Gil Gordon, goes door-to-door, pub-to-pub collecting thousands of dollars for the appeal each year.
This weekend his 10 year-old identical twin daughters Charlotte and Isobel Gordon will also walk the streets, buckets in hand.
“It feels good to know you’re helping someone get out there and live their lives,” Charlotte said.
“Instead of just sitting at home and feeling sorry.
“It’s good to know you’re helping.”
Mr Gordon said Maitland was a generous town – so generous it outstripped the rest of the Hunter both in terms of volunteer numbers per capita and dollars collected per volunteer.
“It’s most humbling when the donations come from those who can afford it least,” he said.
“They know what the Salvation Army does, they know how much they help.”
He said Maitland’s collector donation rate – the amount of money collected on average by each volunteer – was around twice as high as the rest of the Hunter Valley.
“Last year it was $377 per collector,” he said.
Mr Gordon said, that while he was thankful for every dollar in every bucket, if people in Maitland donated a few hours as a collector they’d make an exponentially larger impact.
“If a family gives us $15 that’s great but if you give us a few hours you’ll raise so much more.”
Mr Gordon has made his living as a financial planner, precisely understanding the value and impact of a dollar. And he speaks about the Salvation Army’s presence in Maitland with both precision and passion.
“When I was looking for a charity to give my time to I picked the Salvation Army has the lowest overheads – less than 15 per cent of the money goes to running the Army,” he said.
“When you look at the programs – youth, domestic violence, whatever the focus is – they put a huge amount into the Hunter.
“And I think [volunteering] should be about helping your neighbours.”
With the release of the 2016 ESIS the Salvation Army also called on poverty to be addressed by the major political parties during the election.
The Salvation Army's territorial communications and fundraising secretary Major Bruce Harmer said the findings were alarming.
“We need serious funding to develop innovative solutions to the complex issues of entrenched poverty,” he said.
The weekend of the Red Shield Appeal Doorknock nationwide is Saturday May 28 and Sunday May 29.
People can sign up as volunteers or donate online as salvos.org.au.
