Tasmanian Salvos to take part in ‘Surviving Poverty’ evening
BY LERISSE SMITH
Powerful and compelling stories from individuals facing poverty, homelessness and despair will be highlighted at a special Anti-Poverty Week event with The Salvation Army among the key advocates addressing the critical issue.
Salvation Army staff from Tasmania’s Doorways and Care Finder programs have joined forces with five other social welfare organisations to present ‘Surviving Poverty’, an evening dedicated to the stories of those grappling with financial, emotional and homelessness issues.
The event will be hosted by St Vincent de Paul Tasmania, which has partnered with the City of Launceston, The Salvation Army, City Mission, Launceston Benevolent Society, CatholicCare Tasmania and Uniting Tas to run the special evening tomorrow night (Wed 16 Oct) at the University of Tasmania’s Inveresk Campus in Launceston.
And a primary theme will feature on the night.
“A big one for us is education,” said Sue Wynne, The Salvation Army’s Case Manager with CareFinder, who will take part in a panel on support workers’ insights into poverty, homelessness, and the impact on families.
“Also overcoming people’s preconceived ideas about what poverty and homelessness for people is really like, and what would some of those preconceived ideas be that people feel exist in society.”
The City of Launceston provided funding for the organisations to undertake some pre-recorded video interviews of de-identified community members impacted by poverty and homelessness.
The public has been invited to come along and hear their stories of being affected by low income, the cost of living and the struggles of being homeless.
The Salvation Army’s Doorways Regional Manager in Tasmania, Anita Reeve, will also host a panel where support workers from the organisations will be interviewed about their experiences working with people encountering poverty and homelessness and the subsequent impact on themselves and their families.
They will also discuss the difficulties support workers face and join in the audience discussion and answer questions.
A feature film, Rosie, detailing the story of a woman, her husband and their four children who find themselves homeless after their landlord sells their house, will also be screened at the event.
The film documents the couple desperately searching for a place to live over the next 36 hours while trying to shield the kids from the reality of the situation.
Sue said many preconceived notions about poverty and homelessness existed.
“A major one would be that people bring it upon themselves,” Sue said.
“People believe poverty and homelessness comes through their lifestyle, believing people would rather spend their money on addictions than secure accommodation and groceries and things like that. But it is quite often the other way around. It is ending up in that situation. Some people then end up kind of self-medicating to deal with the situation. But there’s always a much deeper story for people as to how they end up being homeless.”
The stories behind why people can find themselves homeless can vary, from people having to leave their homes due to family violence to child abuse and children feeling the need to run away from home because their home life was not safe for them.
However, the core reason for poverty and homelessness in the community was the rising cost of living.
“People from all walks of life are being affected by it,” Sue explained.
“For instance, the cost of rentals has just gone up, and the cost of living has not kept up with it. So, it is not just one demographic now that is dealing with poverty. It is right across the board. So, that makes it really difficult. There’s also a shortage of housing for people, especially affordable housing. So, they are two major things that are really impacting people.”
The organisations taking part in Surviving Poverty regularly meet together as a group for various meetings connected with homelessness and poverty in the community.
They decided to run a special evening during Anti-Poverty Week with the Rosie documentary produced by Zac Lockhart, The Salvation Army’s Street Team Coordinator in Tasmania.
“For instance, the cost of rentals has just gone up, and the cost of living has not kept up with it. So, it is not just one demographic now that is dealing with poverty. It is right across the board.”
The pre-recorded video interviews with community members directly encountering homelessness and poverty include one gentleman who has engaged with Sue for a period of time.
“Between the organisations, we invited some of our people that we’ve worked with and asked them whether they would be interested in being interviewed for the evening about their experiences with homelessness and poverty because the two go hand in hand,” Sue remarked.
“There is one fellow I have worked with for quite a few years. I am very fortunate in my role that I can work with people for an extended length of time because nothing changes in people’s lives quickly. And then there is another lady who is known by another one of the organisations.
“So, their two experiences were quite different. The fellow has had a lifelong experience in homelessness, going in and out of it throughout his life, while for the lady, it has been for her more as an adult. We have two very different situations to give some examples.”
Sue hopes many people will come along to the evening or to watch the movie so the word can be spread that poverty and homelessness are not what people necessarily think and that there was a lot more involved to the two issues than a lot of people’s preconceived notions.
Additionally, she hopes people can display an empathetic, understanding and compassionate attitude towards those doing it tough in the community, asking those experiencing homelessness and poverty how they would like to approach receiving help for their issues or letting them know what services are available.
“First and foremost, just sit and listen to their story if that’s what they want to share,” Sue remarked.
“Take the time to listen to their story and find out what their needs are. It could be different to what we obviously assume. We can be so off the money, can’t we? Unless we actually ask people and say, “How can I help you, and how can I meet your needs?”
Surviving Poverty will be held tomorrow night, Wednesday, 16 October, at the University of Tasmania’s Inveresk Campus Rory Spence Lecture Theatre in Launceston.
For bookings and details: https://events.humanitix.com/surviving-poverty-an-anti-poverty-week-event?hxchl=hex-qrc&hxref=evt
