SVP launches annual appeal as calls for help hit 2000 a week
As winter approaches, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) is receiving in excess of 2,000 requests for help a week in towns, cities and villages across the country.
Launching the SVP Annual Appeal entitled “Impossible Choices”, Mary Waide, SVP Regional President for the North Region, said that despite the promises of additional cost of living support payments being made by the government, there are clearly many people who are struggling to meet basic family expenses.
Mary said: “Last year was sadly record-breaking with 191,000 requests for help received at our national and regional offices.
Unfortunately that figure looks likely to be exceeded this year with 168,000 requests already received across the island to the end of October, a 19% increase on the same time in 2021.
“We are very worried that many families will continue to struggle into next year. In the coming months the cost of living crisis will hit different households in different ways particularly with the rising costs of food, energy and housing.
Add in the cost of celebrating Christmas and you can see how difficult life is going to be for those on fixed incomes, whether that income comes from government benefits or from low-paid employment.
“Those hardest hit will include one parent-families, low income workers, low-income households in rural areas, the unemployed, those who are retired or people with disabilities and their carers.
The most vulnerable in our communities are all facing impossible choices this Christmas which will undoubtedly stretch into the new year.
That is why we are seeking donations to help families pay for food to put on the table, heat their homes and ensure their children enjoy the magic of Christmas.
“We are appealing to people to please donate whatever they can spare to help SVP give the gift of choice this Christmas.”
Ways to donate:
Online: www.svp.ie and nominate your local area
By phone: 028 9075 0161 and nominate your local area
By post:to SVP, 196/200 Antrim Road, Belfast, BT15 2AJ with cheques made payable to ‘Society of St. Vincent de Paul’.
Blue envelopes: Keep an eye out for special blue envelopes in newspapers, churches and delivered to homes throughout the country.
SVP is an international charity and the largest voluntary charity in Ireland.
SVP members in Northern Ireland work in all communities to support people whatever their background, who are experiencing poverty and social exclusion, promoting self-sufficiency and working for social justice.
Every year it spends £3m in Northern Ireland and last year, SVP responded to tens of thousands of calls for assistance from members of the public.
The charity also manages Vincent’s shops across the province and for those interested in supporting SVP by becoming a member or volunteering, opportunities are available by visiting:
www.svp.ie, or emailing info@svpni.co.uk
or by phoning 028 9035 1561.
Videos promoting this year’s Appeal:
Eamonn Holmes: https://youtu.be/dAUhFh3nY7w
May McFettridge: https://youtu.be/eb4QneCUitE
Mary Waide: https://youtu.be/A02-WFPojoc
Examples of the requests for help SVP received recently:
“I’m looking for any help you can give with vouchers for groceries. The cost of living is just too much right now.
“Just towards some bread and tinned foods and so I can give as snacks for my six-year-old in his school lunch box. I hate the thought of him going to school without enough food for his lunch.”
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“Please, I need your help, the weather is getting so cold. My kids need winter clothes, socks and gloves.
“I have nothing left after all my bills have been paid. Please help me with some vouchers so I can buy these essentials, God bless you more. Thanks.”
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“I have two girls, and I try to work hard to provide for them. But between rent, all my monthly bills and medication for my daughter’s worsening asthma… there isn’t much left at the end of the month.
“We have an old house; it gets damp and cold. Winter is horrible here. Last year, some nights were so cold we pulled a mattress in front of the fire in the sitting room, and all slept there.”
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“I’m writing to you in hope. It was a hard year for my family and me. Our car broke down, and we had to get a new one. We had our eldest son’s confirmation.
“My husband was self-employed, but work wasn’t constant. Now he’s working a full-time job, and I’m working part-time, but it’s still hard.
“We have three kids going to school. We just got a huge electricity bill, and once again, I can’t afford the school books they’ve been waiting months for.”
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