Poverty: We can all do something about it

Posted on October 12th, 2020

Poverty puts pressure on people – it’s constant and strong. If the pressure builds up, people can be pushed into homelessness.

Anti-Poverty Week, held October 11 – 17, supports the Australian community to have an increased understanding of poverty and to take action collectively to end it.

This year’s key message is:
Poverty exists. Poverty hurts us all.  We can all do something about it.  

CentacareCQ and the Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton wishes to raise awareness of poverty within our region; to speak up and help do something about it.

CentacareCQ Director Robert Sims said the organisation has ensured that all of our clients still have access to their services even if they don’t have the ability to pay their fees.

“This includes hardship measures to allow temporary fee relief, and also includes the offering of free services, including counselling services, to ensure access is available.”

Counselling Services

This equates to more than 3.24 million people living in poverty – that includes 774,000 children.

And while the temporary payments introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the number of people in poverty by 13% (to 2.6 million Australians), Australian National University researchers have estimated an increase in poverty by December 2020 due to the reductions in income supports.

ANU estimates an increase of one third to 3.5 million people.

To find out more or how you can help make a difference in your community, visit www.antipovertyweek.org.au

Facts about Poverty

• 1 in 6 Australian children aged 0 – 14 years lived in poverty in 2017 & 2018 (that’s 774,000 children)
• Children living in sole parent families have a poverty rate of 44%, 3 times that of coupe families (13%)
• In 2016, there were more than 116,000 people who did not have a place to call home, a 14% increase from 2011
• 2 of every 5 people facing homelessness were young people under the age of 25
• Domestic violence is a major reason [people become homeless – and was the largest single reason of people presenting for emergency accommodation hep according to the Australian Homelessness Monitor (2018)
• 38% of the 2.6 million people living in poverty are from households where wages were the main source of income
• In late 2018, more than 1 million Australians were having to work multiple jobs
• Women and younger workers are more likely to hold multiple jobs – around 17% of women aged 18 – 24 and 1 in 10 women aged between 25 and 34 have two or more jobs
• 644,000 15 – 24-year-olds were unemployed or underemployed in October 2018
• Just under 2 of every 5 Australians living in poverty have disabilities – 739,000 of nearly 2 million adult Australians
• 1 in 6 people with disability were living in poverty compared with just over 1 in 10 Australians without disability
• Disadvantage is more prevalent and persistent in regional and remote parts of Australia (National Rural Health Alliance)

Getting assistance from CentacareCQ

CentacareCQ offers a wide range of counselling services to find out more visit our counselling page. To find out more about our disability, aged care and other support services please visit our services page.

We’re here to help and it is the policy of CentacareCQ that no client will be refused a service based on an inability to contribute a fee.