A volunteer-run charity organisation that helps struggling local families with back-to-school costs has doubled demand for its services in the past year.
We Care Connect, a community support service that started on the Central Coast in 2016 when a group of local parents began collecting and donating their children's clothes and shoes as they grew out of them, moved into the Hunter in September 2022.
The charity, incorporated in 2018 to meet an accelerating need for support, now operates through a network of neighbourhood outreach centres where donations are collected and then distributed to families needing help through case workers attached to partner organisations around the region.
Last year, We Care Connect, which employs only two part-time staff and relies on help from over 100 volunteers, provided support for almost 7000 children in the Central Coast and the Hunter. But the number of families facing hardship is increasing. Last month alone, the charity helped more than 1000 children.
Jackie Klarkowski, a long-time volunteer and one-time board secretary for the charity, pulled into a McDonald's parking lot in the region yesterday after making a delivery to a case worker from a Hunter refuge who was helping two local families.
"We have just done a car park swap-over," Mrs Klarkowski told the Newcastle Herald, "I've just handed over a car full of bags for two families she has in the refuge."
The charity is targeted at helping young local families meet the rising household costs, like Christmas presents, winter clothes and blankets, and new school uniforms and equipment. Most often, Mrs Klarkowski said, she is helping single mothers, many of whom have survived domestic violence or are facing prolonged illness or mental health issues.
She said that as families struggle to make ends meet, charities are forced to fill the gaps that governments have failed to address.
"Charities are picking up the slack where governments are standing back," she said, "And I think that is an issue that we as a society need to consider. We need to look at our safety nets for kids.
Charity organisations across the Hunter are tracking marked increases in the number of families reaching out for support, many of whom have not needed charity support before.
St. Vincent de Paul has reported a 27 per cent increase in families since last year. Hunter-based Samaritans helped 294 individuals and families in December 2023, a 20 per cent increase from December 2022.
Those seeking help include people who have been tipped over the edge by unexpected bills and single parents who can't keep up with the relentless cost of living pressures. Exorbitant utility bills has become a major source of stress for many of those who have come forward recently.
"This year, we have had back-to-school orders from Port Stephens, Dungog, out to Muswellbrook," Mrs Klarkowski said, "I would say that the number of packages we have provided in the Hunter has probably tripled since last year.
"The economic circumstances are such that a lot of people are struggling out there. The families we help represent the part of society which is finding it hardest."
When a case worker applies to We Care Connect, the organisation asks them to indicate the cause of the recipient family's disadvantage. The risk of homelessness has grown to account for as many as one in five of their orders, Mrs Klarkowski said.
Christmas and the beginning of the new year are busy for the charity's volunteers as holiday pressures mount and back-to-school costs rise. The other peak comes around May as many children grow out of last year's winter clothes and the weather starts to cool down.
Yesterday, a donor delivered 12 new and fully-stocked school backpacks to one of the charity's drop-off centres at Gateshead, adding to another 10 that were given to the Northern Lakes Neighbourhood Centre at Lake Munmorah earlier this week. We Care Connect has a following of around 10,000 on social media where callouts for specific items are often filled by good samaritans looking to lend a hand.
"People are really generous," she said, "When they get the sense of what the donations are for; when they understand that these are families that are sole parents, that have been dealing with domestic violence, that are struggling with homelessness, they will go out of their way to help.
"A lot of our donors can afford to help us, and they will say so and say that they can only imagine what it is like to have to choose between buying shoes for your child or putting petrol in the car. People get it, and they are keen to help. They would support better government assistance for families, but it has to be targeted rather than some of these cash flashes that go everywhere.
The Newcastle Herald contacted the Department of Justice and Community, and the Hunter Samaritans yesterday, both of whom Mrs Klarkowski said are registered with We Care Connect. Neither were immediately available to comment, but the DCJ offers a number of programs to support families including rent assistance, support to escape domestic violence, and counselling services among other initiatives.
