Survivor's R US

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie) (14:14): Imagine living off the disability support pension. Now imagine using that meagre income not to pay for your own basic needs but to help pay the astronomical rent on a commercial building that houses a life-saving charity. That is the situation that Maria Martin, founder of Survivor's R Us, has found herself in. A domestic violence survivor herself, Maria has dedicated her life to helping people in the most desperate of situations. Her self-funded charity looks after men, women and children leaving domestic violence, as well as those who are homeless, unemployed or under financial duress, and people who have given up all hope and are on the verge of committing suicide. She and her team of 110 volunteers work to bring those people back from the brink.

Since Survivor's R Us was established in 2016, the charity has helped in excess of 100,000 people through its free counselling and support services, food pantry, cafe, free hot meals, laundry and shower services, support centre, op-shop and weekly outreach barbeques. It has also helped people to find emergency accommodation and homes. It is a truly noble and irreplaceable grassroots charity. I am extremely saddened to announce that unless Survivor's R Us receives a desperately needed lifeline of its own, the life-saving service will close its doors when its lease expires in December 2025.

Survivor's R Us already pays more than $300,000 every year to rent a warehouse in Cardiff. Last month it received notice that the landlord would be increasing the rent by an additional $36,000 per annum, effective immediately. Moreover, from January next year the rent would go up again, and that was flagged to be another $36,000 per annum. Apparently, the initial $36,000 increase by the landlord was justified because council rates have gone up. Maria has been told that the next rent increase is due to the consumer price index. Put simply, that financial burden is too much for the charity to bear. It currently pays for its rent through fundraising events, public donations, food bank sales, the op-shop and training courses held in its warehouse. When it falls short, Maria and other volunteers dip into their pensions to help cover the cost. They receive no government funding. They have also raised and spent between $350,000 and $400,000 on fitting out the warehouse.

Survivor's R Us is one of the biggest charities in Newcastle and the Hunter, and it helps people from all walks of life. Recently, its clients have even included doctors and lawyers, who cannot afford to buy food because of crippling mortgages and the cost of living. Some who present have not eaten for days. The charity is currently serving meals to over 100 people a day, five days a week. It is also regularly approached by housing department staff asking for free furniture, clothing and food for its clients.

The charity is regularly asked for help by funded charities with paid staff, while none of the 110 weekly volunteers at Survivor's R Us pull a wage. So far this year those volunteers have helped 446 domestic violence victims and 107 homeless people. They have handed out 7,232 hot and cold food bags, 2,110 OzHarvest bags, 617 dignity bags, 731 food hampers, 305 fruit and vegetable bags, 392 meat products and 314 manchester items. They have also cooked 2,935 hot breakfasts, provided more than 160 hours of free counselling and offered other support to 786 clients.

If Survivor's R Us closes, where will those people go? The Government is well aware of the challenges our communities are facing and, yes, they are doing good work in areas, but we are collectively leaving the job of helping those who are doing it tough and living in crisis to all-too-few volunteers. We need to do more. We need to support the supporters and make sure that they have enough funding to keep going. We should not have volunteers dipping into their own pockets to keep charities going. We should not have a situation where someone like Maria is looking to mortgage her own house to keep the doors open. The cost to the community will be higher in the long run if we cannot support cost-effective grassroots organisations like Survivor's R Us. I implore the Government to do all it can to assist not only Survivors R Us but all charities, organisations and not-for-profit groups that are working hard to help people in the most desperate of need.