Media Coverage
Australian Associated Press; September 23, 2025
In 20 years on the frontline of charity services, Tairyn Vergara says she has never seen anything like the current demand for help from desperate families.
“Families are really, really struggling,” says the chief executive of Parks Community Network in western Sydney.
“We have a lot of people seeking no-interest loans for things like car registration and repairs, but they simply do not have the $30 a fortnight needed for repayments, so we unfortunately can’t give them a loan,” she said.
Research from national charity Good360 Australia shows 82 per cent of charities say demand has never been higher and 69 per cent don’t have enough donated items to meet the needs of clients.
Good360 managing director Alison Covington said its survey of more than 400 charities and disadvantaged schools showed the cost-of-living crisis was becoming a permanent, structural challenge “that requires smart and sustainable long-term solutions”.
“Families going without basic hygiene products, children without essential school supplies, and elderly Australians facing hardship for the first time,” she said.
“This is not the Australia we should accept in 2025.”
Syndicated across over 90 titles nationwide, including:
