People accessing emergency relief services in Victoria are being deprived of essentials such as a secure home and medical treatment and in many cases are falling behind in payments for housing, gas, electricity and water according to a new report from Anglicare Victoria.

Anglicare CEO Dr Ray Cleary said all emergency relief clients rely on income support from Centrelink and the findings of the report indicate the social security safety net is failing them.

"Almost nine in every ten people who took part in our Hardship Survey were forced to borrow money from family or friends in the past 12 months," Dr Cleary said.

"Around a quarter of the people we spoke to had been forced to pawn or sell some of their property just to pay their day-to-day expenses."

The Anglicare Victoria Hardship Survey 2010 used a well regarded deprivation index developed by the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW that contains 26 items 'no-one in Australia should have to go without today'.

The results showed that more than half of the people questioned could not afford dental treatment when they needed it, more than one third could not afford medicine prescribed by a doctor and almost 30 per cent could not afford to eat a good meal once a day.

"Perhaps the most shocking finding was that more than three quarters of the people surveyed were missing out on 3 or more of the items deemed as essential in modern Australia and some people were missing out on up to twelve," said Dr Cleary.

The report also showed people were using emergency relief as a regular support service rather than a crisis measure.

"People are accessing so called emergency relief an average of seven times a year with some people approaching various agencies a total of 13 times a year," Dr Cleary said.

"The stark picture this report paints is one of families and individuals forced to go without essentials, borrowing money from friends or family and accessing food parcels and other material aid just to survive."

The Anglicare Victoria Hardship Survey 2010 was conducted in April and May 2010 in St Albans, Wangaratta, Fitzroy, Clayton and Lilydale. One hundred and fourteen emergency relief clients participated in the report.

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