By KATRINA BRANDON
SERVING the needs of local people, Anglicare Victoria and the Morwell Anglican Parish has collaborated, opening a new emergency relief (ER) centre in Morwell.
The new ER aims to provide critical food and fuel relief in Morwell, as the ongoing cost-of-living crisis places further strain on local households.
With the assistance of the Department of Social Services, the program aims to go beyond “simply handing out a parcel, food or a voucher” while ensuring that those seeking assistance are treated with respect. Food Bank and Uniting are also assisting with the needs of the new centre.
The ER was officially launched on Wednesday, July 15 at the Boyd House, St Mary’s Anglican Church, with about 20 people in attendance.
Richard Treloar, Bishop of Gippsland in the Province of Victoria, led the service, sharing words from others who couldn’t be present on the day.
“It is a community of radical inclusion in which the last shall be first, and the least shall be deemed the greatest,” he read.
“Anglicare Victoria envisions a community in which those who’ve never had the sort of legacy privileges that are so easily traded on politically are not branded as lazy, but are afforded support and, with that support, greater agency in their own lives.
“Anglicare Victoria’s purpose is to extend dignity, human dignity, to all people. And so it’s this partnership, I think, and this common vision that we share that we celebrate today, as much as the volunteers and the team leaders, and the funding that makes this emergency relief centre possible.”
In its first eight weeks of operation, the ER has distributed about $7000 in financial and material support, alongside more than 150 hours of service to the community from its volunteers.
Anglicare Victoria’s Program Manager of Community Services, Jane Kennard, said the new ER centre will provide practical, dignified support to people experiencing financial hardship or crisis.
“This new ER centre will be a lifeline for the most vulnerable in our community, giving people access to help when they need it,” she said.
Ms Kennard said the centre had opened in response to growing local demand for Anglicare Victoria’s financial support services, as the cost-of-living crisis forced households to make impossible choices about which essentials they can afford: food, fuel, bills or rent.
“We’ve received a significant increase in the number of local calls to our support line recently, which provides emergency relief, access to financial counselling and rental support over the phone,” she said.
“This spike in demand made the need for face-to-face support in Morwell really clear. Now, people can access immediate support close to home.”
The ER centre can provide food vouchers, petrol vouchers and food parcels, depending on individual circumstances and eligibility.
Importantly, food vouchers for supermarkets will enable households to shop locally for their groceries and choose items that best suit their families, preserving dignity in times of crisis.
“No one should go through financial hardship or crisis alone, and we really encourage community members who are struggling to reach out to us for help,” Ms Kennard said.
Member for Morwell Martin Cameron congratulated the groups, mentioning that their work supports those across the Valley who may not have hope at all.
The ER centre operates from Boyd House, St Mary’s Anglican Church, 6-8 Latrobe Road, Morwell and is open every Tuesday from 10am to 1pm.
To be eligible for support, people must be experiencing financial hardship due to an unexpected change in circumstances that has occurred in the past fortnight.
To discuss volunteering opportunities or to donate non-perishable food items, email: emergencyrelief.gippsland@anglicarevic.org.au
