Latrobe Valley residents: “The government is failing very badly”
By
Michelle Stevens
26 October 2017
Rising numbers of families in Australia’s Latrobe Valley are being forced to rely on charities for assistance. The WSWS interviewed Fiona and Cheryl, who run a not-for-profit charity, Theodore’s Cheerful Givers, providing 200-300 food parcels a month and other aid.
Fiona, who has been volunteering for nine years, described the growing need. “We are seeing more elderly and more families with kids,” she said. “We don’t discriminate. We don’t force people to fill out forms and answer questions about where their money goes, like the other charities. People are often embarrassed that they need help and they shouldn’t be questioned. We help anyone off the street. Some people would rather go without food and starve than feel small.”
Cheryl, who helped establish the charity, said: “Some people are very embarrassed and sometimes people cry when we give them food. People are so grateful for the help they get from us. The elderly get quite distressed and sometimes won’t tell anyone they need help. They are often referred to us by someone else. We have a lot of single parents with up to six kids who need our help. We always feed the kids”.
Cheryl explained that Theodora’s Cheerful Givers, which receives no government funding and depends on fund-raising, is struggling to survive and may be forced to shut down. A rent increase of $660 a month, combined with the increasing costs of buying and transporting pallets of food from the Food Bank in Melbourne has resulted in the need to start charging people $5 (if they can pay) for food parcels.
Fiona described the conditions in the region. “The mill closed, then Hazelwood, and now it looks…