The Catholic Weekly 12 June 2022

SHIVERS ARE being expe- rienced across the State but it’s not due to the bitterly cold conditions - it’s the fear of soaring electricity bills. With energy prices due to skyrocket around 35 per cent at the worst time of the year and interest rates on the rise again this week, aid agencies are being stretched to the lim- it receiving the highest num- ber of requests for assistance on record. In an already difficult pe- riod for charities battered by COVID-related lockdowns, people are facing an un- precedented “eat or heat” option – forced to choose between giving up a meal or warming their home. Rising global commodity prices, Russia’s war on Ukraine and unplanned outages of coal- fired power stations has made electricity the most expensive in Australian living memory. Combining this with the withdrawal at the end of the month of the monetary sup- port put in place to help the Australian economy during the pandemic, experts fearing the worst is yet to come, hit- ting the vulnerable the most. And it’s not only those who have traditionally relied on as- sistance to survive. The rising cost of living is producing a “new wave of poverty”, people once living comfortably, now Winter of discontent ¾ Debbie Cramsie SUNDAY 12 June, 2022 CatholicWeekly The www.catholicweekly.com.au THE CHURCH. ALL OF IT $2 together a just world Forging www.caritas.org.au | 1800 024 413 WALK with CHRIST 2022 Sunday 19 June Procession begins at 2.30pm sharp Scan for details PROUDLY SPONSORED BY holding out their hand for help due to economic circum- stances, rather than by being unable to work. The Sydney President of the St Vincent de Paul Soci- ety, Tony Cranney, said he had never seen conditions so desperate in his 35 years with the iconic charity. He said as a “veteran volunteer” he is still moved to tears at the level of desperation in the community. “Yesterday while driving I felt an emotion of sadness come over me and realised I had tears rolling down my cheeks,” he told The Catholic Weekly . “I had just visited a lady in CONTINUED PAGE 2 EVERY NIGHT Nezar and Hanan Saad pray not only for their family but also the next day’s weather. Two of a growing number of Australians grappling with the rap- idly rising cost of living, they can’t afford to turn on their heater to warm their modest one-bedroom Greenacre granny flat and plead for a reprieve from the winter cold snap. Left with only $70 each week to cover food, medical expenses and bills after paying their rent, the pensioners who also struggle with English say they can’t justify turn- ing on their old air conditioner when they are already battling to buy essentials. Living in their landlord’s back- yard they are invisible to just about everyone except the Melkite Chari- table Foundation. Each week, the family receive food hampers and help with pay- ing bills including electricity which they say some weeks saves them from going hungry. With five adult children and 13 grandchildren, the pensioners say it is very hard saying no to their Heat or Eat? family when they visit and complain about the cold. “If we don’t get help from the Melkites we can’t turn on the heater, it’s that simple,” Nezar said. “It is very frustrating telling our young grandkids we can’t afford heating during winter but that’s the reality. “We constantly have to decide whether we eat or turn the heater on knowing it will bump up the cost of our already expensive electricity bill. “We have five married children, who are also struggling to raise their young kids as energy prices are soaring and the cost of living is becoming very expensive. “We honestly don’t know where we’d be without the help of the Melkites, they are a Godsend.” The Melkite Charitable Foun- dation assist around 500 families annually supplying food hampers as well as vouchers for electricity, gas and water as well as helping with medical bills. Operating for 22 years, they do- nate around $100,000 each year to those in need from both govern- ment grants and community fund- raisers. Nezar and Hanan Saad at home. The couple are part of a growing number of Australians who can’t afford basic necessities such as heating their home in winter. PHOTO: GIOVANNI PORTELLI  By Debbie Cramsie