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Showing posts with label SVP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SVP. Show all posts
Irish Times ✈  Charity boss says needs are growing but pandemic has made society more empathetic.
Jennifer O'Connell

“Poverty isn’t always about money. Poverty is also about loneliness and lack of connection,” says Rose McGowan, incoming president of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), and only the second female one in its 176-year history.

In that time, the charity has survived the challenges of a famine, a civil war, the War of Independence, world wars and several recessions. But the Covid-19 pandemic may be its most significant yet. “Once again, the most vulnerable people are the ones who are struggling most,” says McGowan.

“It’s about your underlying health. It’s about where you live. It’s about whether you have that spare cash” when you were already on the margins. Up to July, the society was taking 15,000 calls for help every month, many from people who had lost their jobs and needed help with rent and utility bills.

Lone parents – half of whom were already experiencing deprivation before Covid – have been particularly hard hit, says McGowan. The moratorium on rent evictions which expired in August, and was replaced by new rental laws that mean landlords must give 90 days’ notice, bought some time for people in vulnerable situations, but it has also left many with mounting arrears. “The children are at home, so they’re eating more. You’re heating the house all day. If you’ve no childcare, you can’t work.”

Continue reading @ Irish Times.

Rose McGowan, President SVP ➖ ‘The Only Criteria For Help Is Need’

SVP ➨ Budget 2021 driven by welcome COVID supports left little scope for poverty and inequality reduction measures.

 
Despite welcome increases in the Living Alone Allowance, the Fuel Allowance and targeted supports for children, today’s Budget has provided little to prevent an escalation in poverty or a growth in inequality, says the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP).

The Society says that it understands the need to deal with the short-term demands made on state finances due to COVID-19 to maintain jobs, businesses and individual incomes, but it is disappointed that there are insufficient measures to indicate that the Government recognises the need to put in place any long term strategic plans to improve the situation for the 700,000 people already living in poverty before the pandemic.

SVP welcome the increase in targeted payments for children in low income households, but it is disappointed that these increases are not accompanied by an increase in the adult rates. Child poverty and income inadequacy can only be fully addressed when the minimum needs of the entire household are considered.

Dr. Tricia Keilthy, SVP Head of Social Justice said:

While there has been welcome increases in targeted supports, this is a second year in a row that there has been no increase in minimum social welfare rates. This decision leaves many people struggling to get by as current rates are set below the poverty line and well below what is required to meet a basic standard of living. Increasing minimum social welfare rates would have provided better support for individuals and families trying to get by on a very low income and helped prevent the damage caused by poverty. 

We also needed to see a comprehensive package of supports to address rising levels of household debt as a result of the pandemic, particularly for utility and rent arrears. Budget 2021 was a missed opportunity to proactively put in place a sufficient financial package and debt relief mechanism to prevent an increase in homelessness and disconnections.

So far this year, SVP has received almost 80,000 calls requesting help and support to access the most basic of needs.  

Calls were up 15% in September compared to the same time last year. 

As further necessary restrictions have been imposed across the country, SVP members fear that the pandemic is worsening existing inequalities and are preparing for a surge in appeals for help with utility bills and food supplies as winter approaches.

Alongside improvements in income supports, SVP wanted the Budget to deliver a comprehensive investment package to help address the persistent issues of homelessness and housing insecurity, educational disadvantage, unaffordable childcare, energy poverty and health inequalities. Very little in this Budget have addressed these issues, say the Society.

Dr. Keilthy said:

Increased funding for social housing built by Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies is welcome but there continues to be an overreliance on the private rented sector to meet long term social housing need. There is also no additional support for those living in the private rented sector and in receipt of housing subsidies. Our members see how paying unsustainable top-ups to bridge the gap with market rents causes families to cut back on basics like food and heat. This Budget needed to address this issue given the added uncertainty people are facing in terms of job and income loss.

Budget 2021 needed to invest in children and young people experiencing disadvantage, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19.

Dr. Keilthy said: 

Educational disadvantage was a key concern for SVP prior to the pandemic and now we have significant concerns for the long-term impact of school closures, and associated learning loss, on children and young people already struggling to play catch-up. There is also very little in today’s Budget to address the persistent issue of school costs that causes so much stress for low income families every year.

SVP welcomes the changes in SUSI and the increased support for students at third level to support the move to online learning. However, we are disappointed to not see any financial supports or recognition for the increasing numbers of students wishing to access third level on a part time basis.

In relation to energy costs SVP says that while it understands the reason for increasing carbon tax in terms of environmental impact there must also be significant measures in tandem to protect those on low incomes, rural households and those with poorly insulated cold homes and reliant on solid fuel. They welcome the additional funding for the retrofit of social housing but said the increase in the Fuel Allowance is not sufficient in offsetting the increase in the Carbon Tax as many households experiencing energy poverty are not eligible for this support. 

SVP will provide a more detailed analysis in the coming days when the full breakdown of measures and expenditure is provided.

Poor Budget For The Poor

An Appeal from SVP ahead of tomorrow's general election.


By Nessan Vaughan
Ask your local candidates if they will commit to invest in measures to end poverty in the 33rd Dáil 

Dear Friend,

As an organisation that has been providing supports to households in need for over 175 years, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul wants the next Dáil to take decisive action so we can see an end to poverty once and for all. Investing in a more just, compassionate and equal society will reap benefits in the long term, for individuals, families, communities and our wider society.

The National Social Justice Committee have identified 5 key areas that we want to see in the next Programme for Government which includes making poverty reduction targets legally binding, increasing investment in social and affordable housing, providing genuinely free primary and secondary education, enhancing income supports and implementing measures to tackle energy and transport poverty. You can find more information on SVP’s Election Priorities by clicking on the image above.

We have eight questions which we are asking you to put to candidates over the next two weeks of canvassing. Asking these questions will help inform you about the policies and priorities of the candidates, but it will also send a clear message back to party leaders about SVP priorities on the doorstep.

Suggested Questions for Election 2020 Candidates
If elected, how will you improve things for the people SVP supports?
What specifically will you do to reduce poverty?
How will you ensure that our social protection system works better to so everyone has an adequate income to meet their basic needs?
How will your party address the issue of in-work poverty?
What measures would you put in place to help people who cannot adequately heat their homes?
How do you intend to tackle the cost of accessing education at preschool, primary, second and third level?
How will your party end the housing and homelessness crisis?
How will your party address the climate emergency and protect those on the lowest incomes?

We would greatly appreciate it if you could show your support and share our #NoPoverty messages on your own social media accounts with your family and friends - specifically posts with SVP #NoPoverty Priorities and Questions to Ask Candidates canvasing in your area. This will help us spread the word and motivate others to think about Poverty in Ireland when choosing their candidate.

We are not recommending which candidates you should vote for but we do recommend that you use your vote to make an end to poverty a priority.

Yours sincerely,


Nessan Vaughan
Chair of the National Social Justice Committee

Make An End To Poverty A Priority In GE2020

From the The Irish Times the Charity that wants would-be TDs to engage with the marginalised and take stand against racism.

By Patsy McGarry

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has called on all general election candidates to agree that the next Dáil and Seanad will be committed to eliminating poverty in Ireland.  

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has called on all general election candidates to agree that the next Dáil and Seanad will be committed to eliminating poverty in Ireland.

The charity is seeking an assurance that the next government will follow the example of the Canadian, Scottish and New Zealand governments by introducing a poverty reduction act, which would make the UN Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating poverty by 2030 legally binding.

It said the next Dáil should commit to eliminating child poverty within five years and to reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less by 2025.

In its ‘Election 2020 Priorities’ document, the SVP also calls for a housing strategy “which seeks to meet 70 per cent of all housing needs through built local authority or approved housing body units by 2030” and a national affordable “cost rental” option for lower income households.

Continue reading @ The Irish Times.

SVP Urges Election Candidates To Commit To Eliminating Poverty

Anthony McIntyre is critical of a Priest Against The Poor in Co Meath.

Kick The Poor

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