By Pam Kiriakidis
As cost-of-living expenses continue to increase, charities across northern Melbourne are working harder to accommodate the high demand of financial assistance.
Not-for-profit organisation Big Group Hug, which provides material aid to vulnerable families and more than 120 organisations, has experienced a huge increase in demand – reporting 2023 as one of its highest years for requests.
Between January and March this year, the charity provided aid for 1353 children – a 52 per cent increase on the previous quarter.
Big Group Hug experienced its highest demand on record in May – receiving 418 requests, with 391 children provided assistance in Whittlesea, Banyule and Nillumbik municipalities as of mid-June.
Big Group Hug relationship development coordinator Feona Wadsworth said the increase was a ‘sharp rise’, with the charity accepting requests from families who may have never previously needed support.
“[The cost-of-living expenses], it really influences the demand. It’s not slowing down, the numbers are continuing to grow each day … electricity and gas prices are going up, there are more interest rate rises to come,” she said.
“We do help until age 16, so we will find that we will be asked to help four, five or six children in a family whereas previously we found that we might have only been asked to help the baby.”
Big Group Hug has many volunteers donating their hours to pack items at the main warehouse in Bundoora, while the Airport West warehouse services families and organisations in western metropolitan Melbourne.
Due to the number of requests, Ms Wadsworth said Big Group Hug had to ask more of its volunteers to work longer hours, with some helping up to five days a week.
“It is a case of all hands-on-deck where we call upon our wonderful, incredible volunteers to come in and help us and put these packages together, put these requests together, and then we do the call-out to our community,” she said.
During January to March, Big Group Hug could only fill 43 per cent of requests for aid – meaning less than half of children and families in need were able to be provided with items of assistance.
“We are still able to give out things per family and we always make sure that we have items to give out, it’s just not every single item that the family has requested,” Ms Wadsworth said.
“It’s a daily assessment of what’s on our shelves, the donations coming in and working because we can only work with what’s been donated to us, and so it’s a case of ‘okay, what can we provide to the families?’”
Ms Wadsworth said the charity was looking for more stock to accommodate hospitals, especially new parents needing material aid for newborns.
She said the need for larger items like prams, car seats, bouncers, highchairs, and safety gates were at an all-time high, and community donations would be greatly appreciated.
“We are also aware that the community is doing it tough as well, but we would hope they keep us in mind as they are cleaning out their cupboards, their garages, as they come across items to donate them to us,” she said.
To help Big Group Hug, visit biggrouphug.org
