More than 3 million Australians living in poverty, including nine percent of Canberrans: an estimated 38,300 people, including 9,000 children. A major contribution to poverty is the cost-of-living crisis, which is causing distress for more than half of Australian families.

Anti-Poverty Weeks, held this year from Sunday 15 to Friday 27 October, help the Australian community to better understand poverty and collectively end it.

The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and VolunteeringACT are co-chairs of Anti-Poverty Weeks in the Canberra region this year.

“The cost of living crisis will only continue to increase the number of people, particularly children, living in poverty,” Jean Giese, CEO of VolunteeringACT, said. “There are currently one in six children living in poverty in Australia.”

“Poverty has wide and negative impacts on each aspect of life, affecting people’s ability to have secure and high-quality food, to adequately care for themselves and their children, to have stable housing, and to secure educational and professional opportunities that will improve their future.”

VolunteeringACT is the peak body for volunteering. It provides community information in the Canberra region, and programs for people experiencing disadvantage and isolation, people with disability, and people needing support for mental wellness.

Dr Devin Bowles, CEO of ACTCOSS, commented, “Despite high average weekly earnings in the ACT, there are many Canberrans living in poverty and struggling to make ends meet. For people in poverty, the rapidly accelerating cost of living and housing crises are creating insurmountable pressures.”

ACTCOSS represents not-for-profit community organisations and works for social justice in the ACT. Its vision is for an inclusive Canberra where no one lives in poverty.

“We have heard countless stories of households in our community having to choose which essentials they can manage to cover each week,” Dr Bowles said. “This is an indictment of our current social security system, which is operating in a way that traps people below the poverty line.”

In Australia, as determined by the Australian Council of Social Services, the poverty line is generally defined as half of median income.

 “Poverty is gendered,” Ms Giese said. “When women are the main earners in a household, it is shown that these homes experience nearly twice the rate of poverty compared to households whose primary income earners are men.”

“Both the ACT and federal governments have major roles to play in poverty alleviation,” Dr Bowles said. “Investment is urgently needed to redress prohibitive cost of living pressures, housing unaffordability, underfunding of community sector services, and shamefully low rates of income support.”

There are many things you can do right now to contribute towards ending and minimising the impact of poverty. (Visit the Anti-Poverty Week linktree.)

These actions are listed below:

• Reach out to your local MP and demand meaningful action on ending poverty.
• Join the call to end child poverty Anti-Poverty Week (antipovertyweek.org.au)
• Volunteer for or donate to your local community organisation that fights against poverty. A list of relevant organisations can be found here.
• Join the Raise the Rate campaign run by ACOSS.
• Join the Everybody’s Home campaign.

Needing support or currently experiencing poverty? You can reach out to:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• 13YARN – 13 92 76
• Salvation Army – 13 72 58
• St Vincent de Paul – 13 18 12