More people are feeling the pinch because of Covid-19. Photo / Getty Images
More people are feeling the pinch because of Covid-19. Photo / Getty Images
Significant funding for housing, mental health and addiction and guaranteed income for all would help bridge the growing inequities in communities, welfare providers say.
Budget 2020 will be delivered on Thursdayand as economic pressures affect more Rotorua families than ever before, welfare providers are urging the Government to consider waysto help the country's most vulnerable.
"Local small businesses desperately need a boost. It is going to take them a while to get back on their feet and as we see these businesses struggling, the number of people needing our help is climbing substantially."
Peiffer said investment into addiction and mental health was more important than ever.
"So many families are battling anxiety and depression as they micro-manage their money, trying to make ends meet on reduced incomes or after losing their jobs. There was already great demand for services in that area but now that will be even greater."
As a primarily self-funded organisation, Love Soup would benefit from easily-accessible funding, Peiffer said.
"We are on the front line, like so many others, but for the past six years we've been basically self-funding. We are filling a gap that the Government hasn't been able to fill so funding to support the work we do would help provide that security for us to keep doing it."
The Salvation Army is looking to the Budget for an economic package that will help shape the social and economic structure of New Zealand in a completely new way.
While the organisation would not comment at a local level, nationally the Salvation Army has identified five areas it believes need investment.
These are a rigorous system of food security to ensure every Kiwi has access to food, an income guarantee so nobody is living in poverty, more strategic credit and debt regulation, a multibillion-dollar investment in housing, and significant funding for mental health and addiction.
Rotorua Grey Power president Miriam Ruberl. Photo / File
Grey Power Rotorua president Miriam Ruberl said affordable housing and funding to cover increases in the cost of living topped the list for the older community.
"What does affordable housing look like? Most seniors reasonably expecting to afford the housing they would like. The affordability of rent and rates would go a long way to helping those over 65.
"The problem is the elderly is invisible to society both financially and in their day-to-day lives. Any financial planning is done by people who have no idea what it is like to live as a 65-plus person.
"A modest increase in superannuation for all and then a top-up that is means-tested would not only improve the cost of living but the cost of dignity."
Lifewise chief executive Jo Denvir said its work with vulnerable families highlighted the stress of isolation for many families, particularly solo parents already living with financial pressure and food poverty.
"Lifewise believes about 20 per cent of the population are living with food poverty, overcrowded or inadequate housing, and are marginalised by a lack of digital access.
"To address our economic wellbeing as a country we need to address these serious inequalities as we move forward to recovery."
