THE St Vincent de Paul Gawler conference has seen a sharp uptake in its services in the past three months, correlating with a spike in South Australia’s unemployment rate.
Between June and July, the local organisation provided assistance 199 times to people doing it tough in the area compared to 148 times during the same period last year – an increase of 34 per cent.
Australia’s August Labour Force figures were released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday, revealing SA had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 7.3 per cent, which was up 0.4 per cent from the previous month.
Gawler Vinnies Conference president Val Duffield said she didn’t need the ABS data to know joblessness was on the rise.
“We’re getting a lot of new clients and a lot of young people,” she said.
“It’s horrible; it’s really rewarding to be able to assist them in some way, but it’s disappointing because we can’t meet some of their needs, it’s just impossible.
“When unemployment is up we can tell, there are more people who need financial help.”
Mrs Duffield added the uptake in Vinnies’ services would likely continue through the coming months, as newly unemployed people often take some time to ask the organisation for assistance.
“A lot of people are very reluctant to seek assistance and are very apologetic when they come to us,” she said.
“They need to be really reassured that this is what we’re here for, we want to help.
“I find it takes a lot of courage to ask us for assistance.”
Services offered by Vinnies to those less fortunate include food assistance, financial planning, donating blankets and household goods, and the Fred’s Van initiative, which offers free meals in Pioneer
Park once a week.
The organisation runs entirely on donations, which can be made at the Vinnies op-shop at 48 Murray Street, Gawler.
Mrs Duffield said the needs of locals accessing its services was becoming “more complex”.
“The needs are much more complex now than they were in 2018, we’re seeing a lot of people who are homeless, they’re looking for accommodation and we see a lot of domestic violence victims.
“It’s not just a matter of handing out a food parcel anymore.”