Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Brief N o . 4 J u ne 2 0 1 0
Anglicare Victoria’s Hardship Survey 2010 demonstrates that people who have to rely
on welfare agencies for support are too poor to afford many of life’s necessities and
face numerous hardships and personal barriers that block opportunities. These findings
strengthen a call from welfare agencies across the country for structural reform to make
in-roads into deprivation. The necessary action includes an increase in income support to
a level sufficient to meet people’s needs, government investments to deliver affordable
housing and essentail services as well as funded models of emergency relief that
strengthen people and communties.
In June 2009 Anglicare Victoria released results from its • Provide a profile of clients seeking support from
first holistic study of hardship among clients receiving Anglicare Victoria’s emergency relief services
emergency relief services (Wise, Yule, Degenhardt & • Quantify deprivation and stressful life events among
Dowa, 2009). The Hardship Survey 2009 provided a emergency relief clients
statistical profile of clients and captured the essential
items they were unable to afford. The survey also • Explore the action emergency relief clients take to
considered the incidence of stressful life events and relieve their circumstances and
psychological distress among clients as potential • Provide an evidence-base in order to advocate to
starting-points of deprivation. government for action that will combat deprivation
and transform lives.
The Hardship Survey 2010 aimed to extend our
understanding of deprivation and the circumstances Research methods
of emergency relief clients through a deeper
exploration of deprivation, financial stress and stressful In the last week of April and the first week of May 2010
life events as well as the action clients take to relieve clients receiving material aid at Anglicare Victoria’s
financial hardship. St Albans, Wangaratta, Fitzroy, Clayton and Lilydale
emergency relief centres were approached to
complete the Hardship Survey 2010. Given the demand
for literacy and the cognitive burden involved in
self-administration, clients were able to have the survey
administered to them face-to-face if this was preferred.
Emergency relief volunteers and co-ordinators
performed the recruitment and provided on-site
administration support, including debriefing and
referral as necessary.
Table 2. Proportion of parents unable to afford Clients experiencing stressful life events
necessities for their child(ren)
Table 4 below shows the proportion of clients who had
Essential item % experienced any of 12 life changes or stressful life events
in the past 12 months. The findings indicate that stress and
A yearly dental check-up 38.5 tumult are a fact of life for many emergency relief clients.
Further, a large proportion of clients lack a meaningful
A hobby or leisure (out-of-school) connection to the community. Indeed, 41.7% reported
37.0
activity that they ‘do not have a social life’.
Up-to-date schoolbooks and new Table 4. Proportion of clients who had experienced
34.7
school clothes event in past 12 months
Participation in school activities
21.1 Events %
and outings
Table 5. Proportion of clients accessing other Survey responses also indicated that many clients
community programs/support had experienced a recent trauma or stressful event
such as a personal illness or injury and were also
Programs/support % accessing health, housing, drug and alcohol, mental
Disability services 14.0 health, disability and family support services. Anglicare
Victoria’s Hardship Survey 2010 speak to the fact that
Medical/dental/health services 13.2
deprivation, disadvantage, health and emotional
Housing services 10.5 problems and tumultuous events go hand-in-hand, and
Financial counselling services 9.6 are not mitigated by a basic safety-net emergency
Other counselling services 9.6 relief service, however useful in an immediate sense.
Mental health services 8.8 Anglicare Victoria recommends recurrent government
Drug and alcohol services 7.9 funding for innovative models of emergency relief
Family support services 6.1 services that strengthen people and communities.
Legal services 6.1
Child care services 5.3 References
Education/training services 5.3 Gordon, D. (2006). The Concept and Measurement of
Other services 2.6 Poverty, In C. Pantazis, D. Gordon and R. Levitas (eds.),
Ageing/elderly services 1.8 Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain. The Millenium
Survey, Policy Press, Bristol, pp. 29-69.
Immigration/citizenship services 0.9
Sarason, I., Johnson, J., & Seigal, J. (1978). Assessing
Summary and solutions the impact of life changes: Development of the Life
Experiences Survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Findings from Anglicare Victoria’s Hardship Survey 2010
Psychology, 46(5), 932-946.
describe the desperate circumstances of many clients
accessing emergency relief services as well as the Saunders, P., Naidoo, Y., & Griffiths, M. (2007). Towards
persistent nature of their plight. The majority of clients New Indicators of Disadvantage: Deprivation and Social
were too poor to afford items that no-one in Australia Exclusion in Australia. Social Policy Research Centre:
should have to go without and most lacked multiple Sydney.
essential items. In the past year the majority of clients
(88.6%) were forced to borrow from friends or family Wise, S., Yule, A., Degenhardt, G., & Dowa, S. (2009).
and about one-quarter had pawned or sold something Anglicare Victoria’s Hardship Survey 2009. Anglicare
just to pay for their day-to-day needs. In the 12 months Victoria Policy, Research and Innovation Brief No. 2.
leading up to the Hardship Survey 2010 most clients had Anglicare Victoria: Melbourne.
been forced to seek help from a welfare agency on
multiple occasions.
Acknowledgements
All emergency relief clients rely on income support from
Acknowledgement and thanks are due to the clients
Centrelink, indicating that the social security safety net
who gave their time to participating in the Hardship
provided by the Australian Government was insufficient
Survey 2010 as well as the co-ordinators and volunteers
to meet their needs. The high proportion of clients who
at Anglicare Victoria’s emergency relief services who
were receiving a reduced rate of income support
performed the recruitment and provided on-site
payment suggests a possible relationship between
administration support in Lilydale (Lesley Conway),
a Centrelink debt and financial hardship. The high
Fitzroy (Lorene Noble), Clayton (Louise Lang and
proportion of clients who were at some stage in the
Alex Mills), Wangaratta (Suzanne Don Leonard and
past year seriously behind in paying for essential goods
David Stegman) and St Albans (Faith Johnson and
and services such as rent, electricity, telephone and gas
Garnet Johnson).
speaks to the lack of affordability of basic services.