A very warm welcome to your July Delivering Hope Every Day impact report.
I can’t thank you enough for your continuing support as a Crisis Partner.
In a time when so many Australians are doing it tough — facing a housing crisis, rising cost of living and uncertainty — your loyal support is more important than ever.
Because of your generosity, families in crisis find safe shelter. People doing it tough are met with compassion, practical care and a path forward. Your regular support truly changes lives, and we are so grateful to you.
Opposite, you can read about the incredible difference your kindness made to Julie and her children, who were at risk of homelessness and are now safe and secure in their own home thanks to you.
A growing number of Australians are being pushed into hardship, and even homelessness. Your ongoing support is a beacon of hope when they need it most.
Thanks to you, people like Manny who featured in the Red Shield Appeal, are leaving homelessness behind and making a fresh start. Support like yours is the hope people like Manny, Julie and many others facing hardship and crisis right across Australia need.
Thank you for being part of the Crisis Partner community and for your continued belief in our mission.
A new home and renewed hope… thanks to you
Today, Julie and her children are settled in a new home and looking to the future with hope. Yet not long ago, she and her children faced homelessness after their landlord significantly increased their rent and they had nowhere to turn.
Colonel Rodney Walters The Salvation Army
The latest Salvation Army research shows housing insecurity is a huge concern for the people coming into our services, with 1 in 3 respondents expressing fear of losing their home and becoming homeless. A fear which became a reality for 1 in 5 who reported they had couch surfed or lived in their car in the past 12 months because they had nowhere else to go. For mother Julie – it quickly became a terrifying reality.
*To protect Julie’s privacy, her name and some details of her story have been changed.
As she shared, “The increase in rental prices was unbelievable. I was facing homelessness. I had just left a domestic violence relationship and didn't really know what I was going to do with myself. I didn't have a car, and everything was getting quite hard financially. Yeah, I was losing hope. I don't know where me and my kids would be if the Salvos hadn’t helped us. Probably on the street.”
Your support gave Julie and her children hope Thankfully, Julie found support from the Salvos and she was able to find a stable and affordable place to call home.
Finding Julie and her children a house was just the first step. Thanks to kindness like yours, we were also able to support her with moving costs and essential items of furniture.
As she shared, “I wasn’t in the place to be able to afford things like the bond and the first two weeks’ rent. The Salvation Army was so kind to me.”
Your generous support helps us provide people like Julie with wraparound care when they need it most. Julie was also referred to the other support services to help her rebuild her life after such a difficult time.
Thanks to your Crisis Partner support, we helped…
Over 250,500 people across our social programs.
Distribute over $24 million in financial support.
A secure place to call home
For Julie, who had been dealing with the trauma and the threat of homelessness, having a new home and the security and stability felt like a dream come true.
As Julie said, “I was able to take a breath and plan my next move without feeling like the world was crumbling around me.”
Today, Julie is very much a part of the Salvos community. Her experiences have inspired her to become a Salvos volunteer, and she is planning to begin a new career as a support coordinator, using her own experiences to support others in times of crisis.
Thanks to the caring Salvos community you are part of, Julie has hope for the future. And she has this to say about all the people who have supported her…
“When I was struggling so badly, I didn't know who to turn to and who would help me. The Salvation Army really came through for me in ways that I could never have dreamt of.”
Julie’s story is a powerful reminder of what it means to have a home and to have hope. How it provides security and sanctuary. And, most importantly of all, how it can create a stable environment for us and our children to thrive.
Thank you for making stories of hope like this possible.
Thank you for being the hope people need.
A big thank you to everyone who supported our Red Shield Appeal. Your generosity brings hope into the lives of people like Manny, Rachel and Nick when they need it most.
Thanks to the wonderful response we had to our Red Shield Appeal, supporters like you are giving people hope for a better tomorrow.
You may remember Manny’s story featured in this year’s Red Shield Appeal. After leaving home to escape his violent father he eventually ended up homeless, sleeping in a tent.
Thanks to your kindness and the support of a Salvos Case Worker, Manny was assisted with transitional housing, along with food support and wraparound Salvos care to help him get back on his feet. Support like yours has also helped Manny's Case Worker to find him a permanent home, where he now lives and is thriving. Manny is also now completing further studies in community services and hopes to give back and help people in his career.
“Getting a permanent home was really awesome. I felt like I was dreaming. Thank you to all the people that support The Salvation Army, because without their help, I don't know if I'd be where I am today.”
- Manny
Thanks to your support...
Nearly 40,000 people were helped through our homelessness services.
Turning crisis into hope for a growing family
Rachel and Nick ended up living in their car after Nick lost his job and their tenancy ended, all while Rachel was pregnant.
Thanks to support like yours, we found the family a stable home in our Salvos Transitional Housing Program and helped them with food hampers and other essentials. After welcoming a beautiful baby boy, their Salvos Case Worker was also able to assist them with finding a permanent home, where they are now happily living.
Rachel’s words of relief sum up just how much your support means to Australian families who are doing it tough:
Over 747,000 nights of accommodation were provided.
“The Salvation Army found out about my living situation, and moved me into Transitional Housing. I was ecstatic. I was really, really happy I had a house. It was so nice to actually have a roof over my head.”
- Manny
“I really don’t know where we would be if we hadn’t walked into the Salvos that day. When we got the house, I just cried. We are so very grateful for all the support.”
- Rachel
More than 1.5 million meals were provided to people who accessed our homelessness services.
Thanks to your support we are prepared for emergencies
Thanks to support like yours, our front-line teams were ready when people needed them - especially after Cyclone Alfred and the Mid Coast New South Wales Floods.
As Cyclone Alfred closed in on Brisbane and its surrounding areas in early March, Salvation Army Emergency Services teams (SAES) were in place at 13 evacuation centres across the region, ready to provide meals, refreshments and emotional support to those affected. An incredible total of nearly 9000 meals were provided to emergency services personnel and residents displaced by the cyclone.
After the floods in New South Wales, SAES teams and 40 dedicated volunteers provided over 700 meals to those affected and to first responders as they worked tirelessly to keep communities safe. These teams supported 16 evacuation centres and contributed over 450 volunteer hours. The Salvation Army also provided financial support to those impacted by the floods.
Your support means we’re ready when disaster strikes
Whenever our fellow Australians face sudden and unexpected emergencies, the Salvos community always responds with speed and generosity.
The incredible Red Shield Appeal support we received means we’re ready to respond from the moment a disaster hits. Your support puts us exactly where we need to be, on the frontline providing hot meals, clean water, essential supplies and emotional support.
What’s more, thanks to the wraparound care you help to provide, we are there for the long haul. We're still in affected communities helping people get the assistance they need to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
Your support changes lives and transforms communities… thank you!
A gift reflecting shared values
Jan grew up in Kent in the English countryside and remembers The Salvation Army from a very young age. In the early 1980s, her career brought her to Adelaide, where she was tasked with setting up a beauty college. At the end of her contract, and shortly before she was due to head home to the UK, she met her husband at a Test Match at the Adelaide Oval. They enjoyed a wonderful life together, until Jan’s husband sadly passed away following a long illness in 2009.
Time to write a Will
Later, when Jan moved to a new home on the Fleurieu Peninsula near Adelaide, she felt it was the right time to ensure her affairs were in order by making a Will.
“I realised I needed to prepare a Will, and by coincidence, I saw an advertisement for a Salvation Army Community Wills Day. I remember thinking that someone was sending me a little reminder!”
Meet Anne... Doorknock Appeal Superstar
Anne is part of our amazing army of volunteers, who give their time to knock on doors to raise money for those in urgent need.
Anne’s reasons for getting involved in our annual Doorknock Appeal are simple. “I doorknock because I feel it’s important to give back to the community,” she explains. “People who are homeless usually find themselves in that situation through no fault of their own.”
Anne has been doorknocking for the Salvos in her Melbourne neighbourhood for nine years. It’s a family affair, with her kids jumping on board to help. She also rallies support from friends in her church, motivating everyone around her to pitch in for the appeal.
Anne has a simple message for anyone who’s thinking of becoming a doorknocker…
“If you have ever considered doing so, then give it a go,” she says. “You can help as much as you want or as little as you want.”
A huge thanks to all our incredible Doorknock Appeal volunteers.
Shared values
While planning her Will, as well as considering family and friends, Jan wanted to include a gift to support a good cause. For such a personal gift, it was very important for Jan to choose an organisation with shared values, she felt that The Salvation Army was an obvious choice.
As Jan says, “While there is a very clear spiritual link with The Salvation Army, for me what is important is the everyday connection between the church and the community. It is real and practical and makes a very positive difference in people’s lives.”
“I feel it’s important to give back to the community. We are here to help.”
- Anne
Thank you
to the over 20,000 volunteer fundraisers who participated in their local communities this year.
Community Will Days
The Salvos offer a community service where generous solicitors prepare simple Wills. For Jan, The Salvation Army Community Wills Day made the process of writing her Will straightforward. With the help of a friendly and knowledgeable solicitor, she was able to create a Will which reflected her wishes perfectly.
If you would like to find out more about leaving a gift in your Will please call 1800 337 082 or email bequests@salvationarmy.org.au
“[They] deliver the services that the most vulnerable members of our community need. That’s why I’ve chosen to leave a bequest to The Salvation Army.”
