WIMMERA advocacy and volunteer groups are spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to help local students have the best start to their school year.
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Last year Stawell's St Vincent De Paul Society conference spent $3000 towards back-to-school costs for local students. Conference secretary Mary Rita Thomas expected the cost to be about the same in 2020.
Smith Family data shows that one in six Australian children and young people are living in poverty. This equates to four children in every classroom of 24.
Data also shows that disadvantaged students are on average two to three years behind in reading and maths by the time they are 15.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development defines the poverty line as half the median household income of the total population.
In Australia, this translates to a single adult living on less than $426.30 a week. It is $895.22 a week for a couple with two children.
Australian Council of Social Services research from 2016 found there are three million people living in poverty in Australia. Of these, 731,000 are children and 1.1 million are under the age of 24.
Good Shepard Australia revealed that parents spend an average of $500 on school books and uniforms per child each year.
Chief executive Stella Avramopoulos said thousands of Australian families were struggling with the cost of buying laptops or tablets for school.
"The expectation that students bring their own device to school can be unaffordable, especially if you're one of three million Australians living below the poverty line," she said.
"The cost of schoolbooks and uniforms alone is nearly $1500 but once you add in a laptop for high school it's close to $2500. It's difficult finding that kind of money at the best of times, let alone the start of the year."
Hunger concerns for children
HORSHAM'S Christian Emergency Food Centre client assessment manager Bev Miatke said a large percentage of the centre's clients were families with young children.
"We expect more families with young children to come in for help once school goes back," she said.
"Asking for help can be a really difficult thing for people to do, but it's often the people with children who come in and ask for support for the sake of their children.
"I encourage parents to ask for our help if they're struggling with lunchbox food. We get a new pallet of fresh fruit and vegetables from Foodbank every week; we also always have snack food items.
"There are lots of costs involved in our public school system, so we want to make it as easy for parents as possible."
Mrs Miatke encouraged people to donate fruit or vegetable items from the gardens. She said the centre also accepted eggs.
A 2018 Foodbank report found that one in five Australian children, or 22 per cent, experienced food insecurity. This was compared to 15 per cent of adults.
It also revealed that 18 per cent of food insecure children went to school without eating breakfast, 15 per cent go to school without a packed lunch or lunch money, and 11 per cent go to bed without eating dinner at least once a week.
What our schools are doing
HORSHAM Primary School's Rasmussen campus holds a breakfast club every day for students and their families.
Principal Chris Walter said the program was funded through the state government, with food supplied by Foodbank.
"Children need to be ready to learn in the morning and not be worrying about being hungry," he said.
"Having the breakfast club every morning means our students are getting something decent to eat before starting their school day. It's also a great social opportunity for our kids and we also invite parents to come along too."
The program has been running since before Mr Walter became principal seven years ago.
"It has ramped up and we've been given more funding over the years. The program is very well utilised by students," he said.
"There is a particular need for a program like this at our school as we have many students from low socio-economic backgrounds."
Mr Walter said the state government also provided funding to struggling families for items such as uniforms and shoes.
"We are supplied with vouchers and are able to take kids to get their new shoes fitted," he said.
"Money is put aside to help these disadvantaged families so their children don't miss out on learning. We want to make sure our students get what they need."
Building lasting relationships
WIMMERA Southern Mallee Local Learning and Employment Network has a number of initiatives that help engage disadvantaged young people.
It covers the Horsham, Yarriambiack, West Wimmera and Hindmarsh municipalities.
The organisation's MATES Mentoring Program provides positive role models who mentor young people on a fortnightly basis for a year.
Wimmera Southern Mallee LLEN project officer Vanessa O'Loughlin said the young people involved in the program came from a range of backgrounds, however disadvantage was often a consistent factor.
"A reasonable percentage of our MATES Mentoring clients come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. I don't think there's a lack of awareness in the community about young people living in poverty, but there is probably a lack of understanding of the degree at which it's happening," she said.
Wimmera LLEN's Reading Buddies Program sees volunteers help primary school aged children learn to read.
"It's designed to help children who are behind in their literacy skills. A volunteer will go to a child's school school for one hour a week and help with developing those skills one-on-one. Language development is so crucial especially at that early age," she said.
Mrs O'Loughlin said the organisation was always looking for more volunteers for its programs. She said people could contact 5381 0122 if they wanted to become a mentor or volunteer.
Community support is crucial
LAST year Stawell's St Vincent De Paul Society conference spent $3000 helping local children get back to school. Conference secretary Mary Rita Thomas expected it to be a similar amount in 2020.
The group is funded solely through donations and profits from the organisation's op-shops.
Mrs Thomas said this time of year was one of the busiest for the organisation.
"Getting children back to school is extremely stressful time for people. Even though there is help available for state school students with uniform and shoe vouchers, a lot of families don't finish the paperwork in time or don't know what help is out there," she said.
"The major thing that parents are struggling with are the book and computer bundle fees - that's pushing parents over the edge."
Mrs Thomas said volunteers often went with students to get new shoes or uniform items.
"Sometimes something as simple as a new jumper can make a world of difference for a student's confidence - you see their face light up when they get something new," she said.
"We have to encourage kids to go to school and stay in school. Anything we can do to help them stay there is seen as a priority to us. Parents want their children to learn and have the same tools as everyone else."
Mrs Thomas is also secretary of Stawell's Interchurch Council which provides emergency food and vouchers for disadvantaged people in the Stawell area.
She said the council gave out 121 food vouchers before Christmas which helped 350 people. Of those, 168 were children under the age of 13.
The council also had a 'toy supermarket' providing those 168 children with two new toys and a book each.
"All of that was funded by the council itself which equated to about $7000," she said.
Mrs Thomas said the council never turned people away.
"If we can't help them directly, we will organise appointments for them with other local services. We've been going since 1970 and provide all the emergency welfare for the town," she said.
The council receives some funding from the federal government, and is run by volunteers.
Stawell's Interchurch Council cottage at 20 Slone Street, Stawell is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10.30am and 12.30pm. For after hours emergencies, contact 0408 038 949.
Stawell's St Vincent De Paul Society can be contacted on 0437 344 323.
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