The St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn (Vinnies) has served the region for more than a century. The charity helps vulnerable people find food, housing and clothing, and supports families, parents, young people, migrants and refugees.

But CEO Lucy Hohnen says the scale of need is unlike anything she has ever seen.

“We’re in unprecedented times. What we’re seeing now is beyond the cohort we would expect: people with jobs, people who may hold a rental property, but they don’t have anything left. There’s real financial stress, and people are struggling to make ends meet. Individuals and families you would never expect are now coming to charities and community organisations for support.”

Hardship is deepening for people on the lowest incomes due to the cost-of-living and housing crises. Vinnies’ task is getting harder as cases become more complex: financial pressures overlap with physical or mental health issues, homelessness and insecure employment. Mental health services are stretched so thin that some people might not receive help unless they are in immediate danger, leaving charities to fill the gap.

But Vinnies is there to provide emergency relief — and long-term change.

“Vinnies is not necessarily just a handout; we are a hand-up,” Ms Hohnen said. “Some people will come to us just for food, but we know that beyond that initial request are all sorts of contributing factors that if we can help folks address, they can change their situation… Our mission is to help people out of that situation. We will hold them in their crisis, but we’re also going to work with them to help lift them out.”

Increased demand: ‘What keeps me up at night is the people we can’t help’

Demand for Vinnies’ services has risen every year for the past five years. Last year, it received 36,000 requests for support. Their emergency relief helpline (13 18 12) now fields 90 to 100 calls a day — nearly double the volume of four years ago — and up to 140 in the end-of-year peak.

“We’re absolutely strung out now,” Ms Hohnen said. “Everybody is absolutely operating at max.”

Running costs have soared, and even Vinnies, one of the biggest and best-known charities, finds spreading its precious resources thin is a challenge. In the last year, it spent $2.2 million on emergency assistance. Years ago, Vinnies might have fed a family on $40; now, it costs $200. Even staples like bread have become “phenomenally expensive”.

“The cost of living also impacts the organisations in terms of providing support,” Ms Hohnen said.

All of Vinnies’ services carry waiting lists; all are growing, and the need is beyond even what the waiting lists suggest, Ms Hohnen said.

Demand for some has outstripped capacity. Samaritan House, which offers crisis accommodation for 13 men, has had its list capped at 39 for months; homeless men camp or sleep in their cars outside, because they know it is safe.

“People are trying to get in, and we just can’t physically help them,” Ms Hohnen said.

“What keeps me up at night is the people we can’t help, the people we can’t reach. Because the pressures are so immense, we can’t get to everybody now.”

Nevertheless, the charity will always provide food and a friendly ear.

“Often people come to Vinnies as their last resort,” Ms Hohnen said. “It’s very rare that we will say no. We will help you with something. We might not be able to supply everything, but we certainly will give you something.”

Food and homelessness relief: ‘For us, everybody’s a human being’

Last year, Vinnies provided nearly 64,000 meals across its Night Patrol service, Blue Door drop-in-centre at Ainslie Village, and Roadhouse at the Griffin Centre. The Roadhouse alone now serves almost twice as many hot meals as originally contracted.

Every night, the Night Patrol service visits four stops in Queanbeyan and Canberra, offering refreshments, warm clothes, sleeping bags, hygiene items, and, above all, dignity.

“There’s such a stigma around folks sleeping rough; many people don’t know how to engage,” Ms Hohnen said. “For us… [it’s] recognising that everybody’s a human being.”

Vinnies last year managed 353 families through specialist homelessness services, while its Street to Home team significantly increased the number of rough sleepers it helped find housing.

Policy reforms needed: ‘I can’t see an end anytime soon’

The long-term answer lies in more social and affordable housing coupled with investment in homelessness services, Ms Hohnen believes.

“Unless you’ve got safe and secure housing in place, it’s very hard to address the challenges in your life,” Ms Hohnen said. “It’s very difficult to start a training program when you’re living in your car. It’s very hard to sort out even basic personal admin if your chief focus is on where you’re going to get your next meal. You’re in this cycle of day-to-day survival rather than trying to improve your life.”

The government is building properties, but until they come online, demand will continue to increase.

“I can’t see an end to it, frankly, any time soon,” Ms Hohnen said. “Until we’ve got these key drivers in hand, our sector will remain under pressure.”

Vinnies has called for a stronger safety net. An ANU study it recently commissioned argued that changes to the wealthiest superannuation accounts could increase welfare payments or establish a guaranteed minimum income.

“It’s a relatively inexpensive way to lift a lot of people out of poverty,” Ms Hohnen said.

Reinstate the Rent Relief Fund: ‘A vital safety net’

The society has joined other community organisations in urging the government to reinstate the Rent Relief Fund, a program cut in the latest ACT Budget. The fund — which Ms Hohnen described as “a vital safety net” — provided grants of up to four weeks’ rent, helping families avoid eviction and homelessness.

“It could happen to anybody — it doesn’t take much to slip into crisis, to slip into that cohort who require support,” Ms Hohnen said. “Just one or two life events, and people find themselves at risk.”

At a cost of $1.7 million a year, the fund kept families off waiting lists at a time when affordable housing is in short supply. The ACT has the highest rate of rental stress among Commonwealth Rent Assistance recipients: more than half pay more than 30 per cent of their incomes on rent, and a quarter pay more than half. Waiting times for public housing exceed five years, and the shortfall of social and affordable dwellings is estimated at 5,400.

A petition to reinstate the fund, sponsored by ACT Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, is live on the Legislative Assembly’s website. It closes on 1 September.

Community support: ‘Just do it, and we will help’

Despite the pressures, community generosity remains a source of hope. This winter’s Gift a Night Off the Streets campaign — run for the first time in the ACT — has already sponsored more than 2,000 safe nights, providing homeless people with a warm bed, clean clothes, and a hot meal for $52 a night. The campaign’s target is 2,324 nights.

Tonight, too, Vinnies will run its first community sleepout in Young, aiming to raise $60,000 for food and material aid in the NSW town.

Ms Hohnen thanked the community for its support and advocacy, and encouraged people to donate financially or volunteer.

“We could not do what we do without volunteers. There is a really broad range of opportunities for people to engage with Vinnies.”

Corporate sponsorships and partnerships are also welcome.

People experiencing hardship should contact Vinnies on emergency relief helpline (13 18 12). Although it can be embarrassing to approach a charity, Ms Hohnen encouraged them to reach out.

“Just do it, and we will help.”