Recently Elham who is living in Adelaide on a Bridging Visa was interviewed on ABC radio. She spoke movingly on the physical, emotional, educational and social effects Covid-19 induced poverty has had on her family. Elham and her husband have work rights but with the Covid-19 shutdown they no longer have any work and were not eligible for Centrelink support and so could not pay their rent and other bills.
We are deeply grateful to to everyone who so generously responded to Elham’s interview. To date over 90 donors responded generating over $23, 000 for to assist with rent, food, utilities and other essentials for Refugees and Asylum Seekers who are not receiving any support from the Government.
We, in the Rent Relief Circle (Circle 3) of Circle of Friends Australia, are paying rent for Elham and other people living in South Australia including. In our first month we have made:
- Fortnightly payments for 5 families
- Weekly payments for 3 people in rooms in shared houses
- Four one-off payments for rent arrears
The donations received so far will enable us to go on for maybe another month or so as we have spent $9,200 so far. In the longer term we hope that other Government funded services will be able to take over some payments, and that some people we are assisting will get work again soon. However, in these uncertain times with NGO’s pushed to the their limits, we anticipate that more people will get referred to us for assistance.
It is the community response that allows us to distribute this money enabling people to stay in their homes so thank you. If you would like to contribute to our Covid-19 response work you can donate via our secure DonateNow page or contact us for our bank details.