by Cam Lucadou-Wells
At the recent Bring Your Bills event in Dandenong, 400 people called for rent and debt relief.
South East Community Links hosted 25 vendors, the largest gathering ever, including telecoms companies, the Big 4 banks, energy and water companies, state and federal agencies, legal aid, rental agencies and councils.
SECL launched its Private Renter Support Program for the first time at the event on 9 August at the Dandenong Civic Centre.
The outreach program enrolled 40 tenants who were experiencing rental stress and were at high risk of losing their housing. SECL provides them with intensive case management.
Clients can be helped to pay rent arrears, pay a security deposit or cope with a drastic rent increase.
You will also receive assistance in negotiating with banks if you are having difficulty repaying mortgages, credit card debt and loans, as well as with utility companies.
“We ensure that their rights are supported and respected, even at the cost of other financial burdens,” said SECL CEO Peter McNamara.
Visitors cited stress over rent and mortgage payments as their biggest debt concern, followed by energy costs and fines.
About 70 percent of the participants lived in rented accommodation, 30 percent had a mortgage on their home.
“The housing shortage is enormous. More and more people are taking on second and third jobs to pay their mortgages and rents,” McNamara said.
“The number of people coming to us with a mortgage and asking for emergency assistance such as food or money for gas has increased by 78 percent.”
Bring Your Bills also expanded its interpreting services to 10 different languages, an important initiative to break down language barriers, said Mr McNamara.
“In CALD communities there is sometimes a lack of understanding of hardship provisions (from banks and other billers).
“People in need are ashamed and afraid to talk to their bank. They fear that this will affect their credit rating.”
“We are trying to normalise hardship measures and say that everything is OK and that there is support.”
In the 12 months prior to the last Bring Your Bills campaign, 1,000 residents paid off $511,000 in debt and received 218 grants and rebates on their bills.
Mr McNamara said the SECL team had taken satisfaction in providing tangible relief.
“People left smiling and relieved. You could clearly see the relief on their faces.”
“We are inspired by the resilience of the community and it is great to see that they have been able to make a significant improvement in their situation.”
