THE President of the Letterkenny area St Vincent de Paul charity fears “a tsunami” of need coming as family resource centres are seeing more demand for support for parents as schools prepre to reopen.
With inflation running at nine percent and exorbitant fuel and heating costs families and individuals are experiencing a cost of living crisis already, and that is before winter temperatures set in.
Speaking to the Donegal News this week local SVP President Cormac McCormack said a lot of people are not inclined to think about back to school and winter while the weather is good.
“I do feel there is a tsunami coming down the road and the government is talking about bringing in help for people in need. There are more and more people turning to the SVP and we have seen a huge increase across the country since 2021. The assistance the government gave during Covid-19 helped while people were not out spending, but now they are feeling the pinch a lot more. Even a bag of coal is now costing €40 and electricity prices are still rising,” Mr McCormack said.
He foresees huge pressure on families getting children back to school and then heating their homes in what will be a very challenging winter.
Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys last month increased the back to school and footwear allowance by €100 per child.
This means that for 2022, the total amount being paid for each qualified child aged 4–11 years will be €260 and the rate payable for each eligible child aged 12 and over will be €385.
However, the estimated cost of sending a child back to primary school is €850 and for a secondary pupil it is €1,200.
The two shops the charity run in Letterkenny have plenty of stock of back to school wear which are very reasonably priced. All of the money earned in the shop is spent locally.
“We will help anyone who is having serious difficulty,” he added.
While the organisation is there to help those who ask Mr McCormack stressed that they cannot help those who do not reach out to them.
“I understand how people are reluctant to ask for help but SVP is non-judgemental and totally confidential. We would love to get to those in difficulty who are not asking as we know there are a lot of people out there who need help.
“We are there for you, just reach out through the website svp.ie or make contact on the local telephone numbers,” he added.
The local president especially wanted to thank the public in the county for the great support they provide.
He added: “We are looking for volunteers and need their help. It is not an onerous task and can be as little as two or three hours a week,” he said.
Across the ten Family Resource Centres in the county calls for support for parents are increasing as families feel the pressures of buying uniforms, stationary, books and arranging transport.
Corina Catterson Flynn, Project Manager at the Finn Valley Family Resource Centre, told the Donegal News that August was a difficult month for families even before the cost of living crisis.
“Even with the increase in the back to school allowance it does not fully cover the costs especially for those going to secondary schools. People are struggling financially.
“We are seeing increased requests for food vouchers and the resource centre sometimes has difficulty accessing these.
“If we get calls from families in other areas we share on the basis there is no wrong door.”
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