National data mirrors demand at Mission Australia's services

New national data released today showing an increase in demand for welfare services across Australia mirrors Mission Australia's own frontline experience.

Mission Australia CEO, Toby Hall, said the number of people seeking assistance at Mission Australia’s homeless services and other community assistance programs has continued to rise in recent years – highlighting the ongoing plight of Australians struggling with financial and personal hardship.

Data published by the Australian Council of Social Service today reported a 12 per cent increase in assistance provided by agencies for services ranging from homelessness to mental health to aged care.

The data also showed that despite providing services on 6,180,282 occasions in 2009-10 compared with 5,513,780 in 2008-09, more than half of the 783 organisations polled said they had been forced to turn people away as they were unable to meet demand.

“This is a clear indication of how serious the demand has become for more services to help people who are struggling in our community,” Mr Hall said.

“Everyday, staff at our services are contacted by individuals and families desperately in need of help: people struggling with long-term homelessness; parents who are unable to find work and can no longer afford to pay the rent; and children who are dropping out of school because of the challenges they face on the home front.

“These trends are particularly concerning, when you consider that high unemployment, large numbers of young people not engaged in education or training, and general disengagement from community are the seeds of the kind of activities we have seen in Britain this month.

“This is a strong reminder to Australia of how important it is to provide adequate support services to help disadvantaged members of our community turn their lives around.

“We don’t want to see Australia's level of disadvantage increase. And most of all, we don’t want to see people in need being turned away from crucial services because the demand is just too great.

“At Mission Australia we are committed to helping people turn their lives around – especially those people who have been turned away by every other service provider.

“We don’t want to see anybody left behind – and that’s why we will continue to work with all levels of government to identify new opportunities to support people who are at risk of homelessness or disadvantage," said Mr Hall.