Bringing Christmas to needy will cost €125k
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VOLUNTEERS with North Cork’s conference of St Vincent de Paul expect to to spend in the region of €125,000 supporting families in the region during the festive season.
The money will be spent on food, hampers, vouchers and fuel to support hard pressed families during Christmas.
A similar amount was spent last year in the North Cork conference of the charity with support going to families in Mallow, Mitchelstown, Fermoy, Charleville, Kanturk, Newmarket, Doneraile, Buttevant and Glantane/Dromahane.
Pat Murphy, the North Cork conference President of SVP, revealed also that the North Cork branch spent almost €345,000 helping families during 2018. This was comprised of €134,605 on vouchers, €131,566 on fuel, €25,865 on food and €52,100 on education.
“Unfortunately, for too many people it can take one bill or a small problem to tip a family into crisis and poverty.”
ABOVE is a section of a heartfelt letter penned to St Vincent de Paul from a desperate parent explaining how the charity helped transform what might otherwise have been a bleak Christmas into a time of joy and celebration for their family.
“It is for people like this that we do what we do and why the support of the public means so much to us and the people who benefit from their generosity,” explained Pat Murphy, St Vincent de Paul North Cork area president.
Children going to school hungry, families unable to even light fires and people living under the constant fear of their homes being repossessed from under them.
One could easily be forgiven for thinking that was a description of life in the Third World.
However, the disturbing truth is that for dozens of families living in the North Cork area these are the kind of struggles they face on a daily basis.
For these families Christmas is often something that must be got through rather than celebrated and were it not for voluntary bodies such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul there would not be even the faintest glimmer of light at the end of the very dark tunnel at this time of the year.
Mr Murphy explained that the North Cork branch of the charity, which covers their conferences in Mallow, Mitchelstown, Fermoy, Charleville, Kanturk, Newmarket, Doneraile, Buttevant and Glantane/ Dromahane, spent in the region of €125,000 last year on supporting families over the festive season.
They expect to spend a similar figure this year on food, food hampers, food vouchers and fuel.
Mr Murphy said that while the situation has not become dramatically worse over the intervening 12 months, neither has it improved for the majority of vulnerable families that still rely on St Vincent de Paul to heat their homes and put food on their tables.
“That the figure is up on last year at all is indicative of the fact that, in spite of constantly hearing that Ireland has a buoyant economy, the most vulnerable people in our society have still yet to see the benefits of that,” said Mr Murphy.
“The truth of the matter is that far from being a festive time, Christmas is a time of great uncertainty for many North Cork families. Our clear and simple message is that Christmas is not the same for everybody. That is why we are asking for people, through our appeal, to once again help shine some light into the lives of those who need assistance the most at this time of the year.”
Mr Murphy said that while there have been modest increases in social welfare payments, these have for the most part been absorbed by increases in heating and food costs, rising rents and the ongoing struggle for families to meet educational costs.
He said it was not just those on social welfare with low incomes who are struggling each week to make ends meet, pointing out that two-income families whose earnings fall above the threshold for a medical card are also struggling to survive under the constant pressure of mortgage repayments, taxes, health insurance, childcare and numerous other expenses.
“Unfortunately, for too many people it can take one bill or a small problem to tip a family into crisis and poverty. People become poor through a lack of resources and find themselves excluded from the ordinary living patterns, activities and customs within society,” said
Mr Murphy.
“It can be an illness or unexpected bill that pushes a family beyond their financial limits, but we know that a little help can stop the domino effect for a family experiencing prolonged hardship.”
While the focus may currently be on Christmas, Mr Murphy said the charity was all too aware of the challenges faced by families across the year.
To underscore this point he revealed that the North Cork branch spent almost €345,000 during the course of 2018 on helping families. This was comprised of €134,605 on vouchers, €131,566 on fuel, €25,865 on food and €52,100 on education.
Mr Murphy said the educational spend, which included money for books, uniforms and even to help cover the cost of third level fees, was a vitally important element of their strategy to assist families in helping to escape the grip of poverty.
“Paving a pathway out of poverty is a key tenet of our national policy. Providing an education to young people is key to this,” said Mr Murphy.
He said none of this would be possible without the ongoing generosity of people from the North Cork area and the local business community.
“There are many examples of large and small donations – all of which have made an immense difference. Quite simply put, it would be impossible to do what we do without all the generous contributions we receive on a weekly basis, and especially at Christmas, from the people of North Cork,” said Mr Murphy. “Our sincere thanks go to everyone who has helped in any way to help shine some light into the lives of those who need our help the most.”
People can contribute to the St Vincent de Paul appeal through the church gate collection across the country this coming weekend or by donations through the ‘Vincent’s charity shops and centres in their local conferences.
“I WAS really struggling when I reached out to SVP – but I was embarrassed to ask. Volunteers visited my home and helped pay for oil. A warm house took so much pressure off. I was able to get a few nice presents for the girls for a change and we had enough for the dinner. The SVP volunteers were like Christmas Angels to us.”