“A young woman drove up to an ER centre. It was a newish car. She had a baby in the back. I could see she was new to asking for help. She was living with her parents (who were on a pension) after escaping domestic violence. She had no money. We filled up the car with nappies, groceries and baby formula. She was overwhelmed. Seeing her leave so grateful is something I’ll never forget. We are used to helping homeless people, but seeing someone pushed into hardship for the first time really hit home.” – Chris de Paiva, Program Manager, Diocesan and Parish Partnerships
When the needs of our community rapidly changed and expanded this year, the coordination of Emergency Relief (ER) became a complex operation. Generous contributions from donors, schools and bulk purchases from food wholesalers solved the first issue of sourcing sufficient supplies. Storage of large quantities of frozen, tinned and fresh produce was the next hurdle. Anglicare Victoria ER teams purchased large freezers with program funds, and food deliveries were carefully timed to avoid overstocking. While the Victorian Parliament remained in lockdown, its kitchen donated 200-300 frozen meals to Anglicare Victoria each week on the morning of our client delivery service. Volunteers then delivered 100 food parcels each week to vulnerable people and families
