As the cost-of-living crisis continues to take a toll on families, foodbanks and other charities across Western Sydney are reporting a demand for services on par with that of the covid pandemic. But with donations dwindling and government funding hard to come by, many support services have been forced to close their doors, and community-based organisations are often the first to go.
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00:00At Maryong Public School, they don't just provide an education.
00:09In Western Sydney, where nearly one in three people are living with food insecurity, Foodbank's
00:14school breakfast program is welcomed by children and their parents.
00:18There's no particular cohort anymore that's exempt from this cost of living crisis.
00:23Running in more than 650 schools, the program is an example of what charities can achieve
00:28with substantial government funding, but for other NGOs in Western Sydney, support
00:33is harder to come by.
00:35At the moment, we're not getting enough donations to keep everything going and the demand keeps
00:39going up and up.
00:40Turbans for Australia has been widely recognised for its services, but the charity is hampered
00:45financially.
00:46Since the lockdown ended, I have not seen any grants for food relief specifically, which
00:51really bothers me as a person because I see the need.
00:54It's not just food relief organisations that are struggling.
00:58The Harman Foundation in Blacktown runs a weekly food drive that primarily offers domestic
01:02violence support, counselling and financial aid to culturally and linguistically diverse
01:06communities.
01:07If we are talking about Western Sydney, we know the population here, we know their cultural
01:14barriers, we know what their needs are.
01:17Parinda says the foundation is overlooked due to its small size, putting key services
01:22like its women's shelter at risk.
01:24It's not being known by the politicians.
01:27We have got so much pat on our back that how good we are, but in regards to the funding,
01:33we have nil.
01:34With interest rates holding steady, the future of community-based charities is uncertain,
01:39with several in Western Sydney forced to close over the past year.
01:42People are being driven out of doing good, and that really bothers me.
01:48Helping Hands in need of Helping Hands.
01:54www.helpinghands.org