THE St Vincent de Paul Society’s International President General Michael Thio witnessed the opening on 2 August of the first new Vinnies retail centre since 2004.
The centre, at Unit 2, 10 Dewar Street, Morley, will provide the local community with a cheaper shopping alternative, a welfare outlet for clothing and household goods and a place to volunteer and gain new skills.
The opening of the shop and Mr Thio’s visit also coincides with Homeless Persons Week, from 2-8 August, which takes the theme Will you be homeless in 2020?
It highlights the four main emerging groups of homeless as women and children, families, young people and over 55s.
Homelessness Australia has reported that families with children are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness in Australia with more than 16 per cent of Australia’s 105,000 homeless in this group – stating one of the main causes as lack of affordable housing.
St Vincent de Paul Society WA spokeswoman Lucinda Ardagh said the Society had a mother with four children walk into its service last week after driving down from Toodyay as she was desperate for help.
After her husband’s work had dried up, they were now struggling to pay a crippling mortgage, look after animals, feed their growing children and keep the family warm in winter.
Her main priority was buying a gas bottle so she could keep the house warm in the freezing weather.
“We were able to assist this lady with food and fuel vouchers to free up some cash, and provided assistance with her outstanding utility bills,” Ms Ardagh said. “Sadly, this mother’s story isn’t uncommon.”
The St Vincent de Paul Society responds to many requests from families in crisis.
Utility bills are one element crippling households at the moment and we’re experiencing a 34 per cent increase (May/June 09 – May/June 10) in the demand for help with payments to keep gas, water and electricity running. Ms Ardagh said that families all over Perth are in dire straits and more often than not, a hand up from a charity like Vinnies is what keeps a roof over their head and them off the streets.
The Vinnies Retail Centres also act in responding to the community’s needs by providing an outlet for welfare assistance in the form of clothing. The new Vinnies Retail Centre in Morley will give locals an opportunity to redeem clothing vouchers given through Home Visitation for themselves and their families.
Vinnies Retail General Manager Lisa Pappas said the Morley shop has been planned for three years.
“We’ve been able to get a whole new group of volunteers to run the shop which is a great reflection on the Morley community who want to help those in need around them,” she said.
The Centre’s aim, she added, is to provide customers with “a pleasant shopping experience where they can find pre-loved clothing and household goods at reasonable prices”.
The Association of the Society of St Vincent de Paul is present in 146 countries, has 51,000 conferences worldwide composed of 750,000 members helping more than 1,500,000 people in their good works.
To donate to the St Vincent de Paul Society Winter Appeal and help respond to individuals and families in need this winter, call 13 18 12 or visit www.vinnies.org.au.