GIVE AND HELP OTHERS

AS we enter the festive season, our thoughts are with the Queensland families who do not know if they will have a roof over their heads

for Christmas.

Over the past year, we have seen a new wave of Queenslanders fighting to stay in their homes as the rental affordability crisis reaches breaking point, forcing families out of properties they’ve called home for decades.

With the rental vacancy rate dropping to record lows in many regions, along with the highest national interstate migration rate we’ve seen in years, we’ve seen more and more families with little options but to couch surf, sleep in their cars or even pitch tents to survive. In the last financial year alone, Vinnies Queensland has responded to more than 181,000 calls for help, with many of these from Queenslanders unsure how they can continue to pay their rent or can no longer find affordable housing in their region.

While we are doing everything we can to help, it is heartbreaking to hear these stories of Queenslanders struggling to provide an affordable, safe home for their family, some even resorting to sleeping in their cars or tents.

Until more social and affordable housing options become available across the state, we are calling upon members of the community with the means to give, even just a small amount, to help support local families through one of the toughest times of their lives.

By donating to Vinnies Christmas Appeal, Queenslanders can help give vulnerable families the ultimate gift – the chance to receive the support they desperately need to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table this Christmas.

We encourage all Queenslanders in the position to give to donate to the 2021 Vinnies Christmas Appeal by visiting vinnies.org.au/donate or calling 13 18 12.

Kevin Mercer, CEO, St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland

1216 Dominican order, the Order of Preachers, is sanctioned by Pope Honorius III.

1828 The Sturt-Hume expedition starts down the Macquarie River to trace its course. They will discover the Darling River during the expedition.

1866 The Public Schools Act of NSW gains assent. It abolishes the dual system of the Board of National Education and Denominational School Board. A Council of Education is created to maintain state schools that are spreading as more towns are established. The Act also cuts government aid available to church schools.

1888 The Bulletin magazine publishes His Father’s Mate, Henry Lawson’s first short story.

1895 Wilhelm Roentgen takes an X-ray photograph of his wife’s hand in Wurzburg, Germany. He finds the rays can pass through objects such as skin.

1899 Bushranger Captain Starlight dies in Brisbane when drunk, drinking potassium cyanide instead of medicine.

1915 Returned soldiers tar and feather the assistant secretary of the Federated Clerks Union, Frederick Katz, in Melbourne because of his German ancestry.

1988 Police arrest Arthur Stanley “Neddy’’ Smith, 44, Glen Flack, 32, and Richard Harris, 27, as they prepare to hold up Botany Council chambers.

1991 Brisbane student James Scott, 22, sets out on a 10-day trek in the Himalayas. He gets lost and is found 43 days later huddled in a cave, living on snow and two chocolate bars.

2004 Australian Federal Police officer Adam Dunning, 26, is shot dead by a sniper while on a peacekeeping mission in the Solomon Islands.