By CASEY NEILL
THE Salvos need more help than ever to support people in need in Doveton.
The Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal is this weekend and Dandenong corps officer Captain Stuart McGifford is urging people to dig deep during the doorknock.
Doveton Community Support Centre provides services to about 400 people each month from the Doveton, Dandenong, Eumemmerring and Dandenong North area.
Captain McGifford said demand at Doveton Community Support Centre had risen steadily over the past six to nine months.
“A lot from asylum seekers and refugees desperately seeking assistance,” he said.
“I have never been in an area where there’s such a demand for food just to get through the week.
“The hard thing is they’re just so grateful to be here.
“I think people value their freedom and the Australian way of life more than we realise.”
As well as funding, the corps is seeking volunteers to stack shelves, lend a hand at a men’s breakfast on Wednesdays and help out in the new Doveton thrift shop.
“For all our staff and volunteers, we go home at the end of the day feeling like we’ve made a real difference to people,” Captain McGifford said.
“We wish there was more we could do. We wish we had more funding, more help.”
The Dandenong corps also runs a Positive Lifestyle Program for the region, and has a chaplaincy team that visits Dandenong Magistrates’ Court to provide practical support such as a suit or transport.
“Some need emotional support,” Captain McGifford said.
“Some people can walk in with a family member and walk out without them because they’ve been incarcerated.”
The Berwick corps runs programs for children, women’s breakfasts with guest speakers and a multicultural basketball competition.
The Red Shield Appeal doorknock weekend runs on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May.
Donations can be made to 13 SALVOS (13 72 58), salvationarmy.org.au or any Westpac Bank branch.
