Long queues for support vouchers

By Bridget Brady
FINANCIALLY struggling families are flooding a Cranbourne support agency, with an extra 500-plus people queuing for food and petrol vouchers in the last year.
Families feeling the pinch swamped the Cranbourne Information and Support Service (CISS) during the last financial year as staff frequently ran out of vouchers.
The trend of people seeking assistance looks to be continuing this financial year, as CISS ran out of vouchers on Monday at 11.15am. They wrote 893 more client cards during the last financial year, with 4833 in total compared to 3940 in the 2007/08 financial year.
Manager of CISS Leanne Petrides said many of those who asked for help did so because they had lost their jobs or had their work hours decreased.
“We have been frantic. We have seen about 500 to 600 more people requesting emergency relief in the 2008/09 financial year,” Ms Petrides said.
“Every year it increases and I certainly would say over the last three to six months we have seen an increase in the number of people with unemployment or lost hours of employment,” she said.
An additional 178 people also joined the Centrelink queues in Cranbourne and Fountain Gate in April to receive either Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance payments.
Ms Petrides said she found some people on a rough road also required general counselling, not just financial counselling.
“Being in these situations adds a lot of stress personally.”
Ms Petrides said she continued to see new people arrive at CISS.
“Some that are new tend to be in a bit of shock at having to access services. They are also shocked at the system and find it hard to navigate.”
Holt MP Anthony Byrne said the impact of the global recession was felt in the local community, and a local employment co-ordinator had been appointed to maximise job opportunities in Casey.
“The local employment co-ordinator will access funding through a jobs fund to develop projects that create employment, training opportunities and deliver new facilities for the local area,” Mr Byrne said.
Jobs would be created through the development of the athletics track at Casey Fields and refurbishments at Casey schools as part of the government’s Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan, Mr Byrne said.