MORE THAN 100,000 people are expected to seek the help of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) in the runup to Christmas, a 25 per cent increase on last year.
One in four calls would be from people who had not sought the society’s help before, SVP national president Mairéad Bushnell said. She said she was “keenly and sadly aware” that many people who had previously donated would not be in a position to do so this year.
The withdrawal of the social welfare Christmas bonus would put many struggling families under “extreme pressure” in coming weeks, Ms Bushnell said. Services provided by the SVP are costing more than €1 million per week.
SVP Week runs from December 6th to 13th. Donate by calling 01-8386990 or one of the regional offices, or on www.svp.ie.
Meanwhile, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) said the recession had led to an increase of 35,000 in the number of calls being handled by the Childline service. The service has fielded 666,529 calls from children to date this year, and is expecting a surge of calls in the run up to Christmas.
The ISPCC, which runs Childline, said 777 children called the service on Christmas Day last year.
The ISPCC is looking to raise €1 million for Childline. Donations can be made through www.ispcc.ie, by calling 1850-504050, or by purchasing an ISPCC “Holly badge”.