00:00At Maryong Public School, they don't just provide an education.
00:09In Western Sydney, where nearly one in three people are living with food insecurity, Foodbank's
00:14school breakfast program is welcomed by children and their parents.
00:18There's no particular cohort anymore that's exempt from this cost of living crisis.
00:23Running in more than 650 schools, the program is an example of what charities can achieve
00:28with substantial government funding, but for other NGOs in Western Sydney, support
00:33is harder to come by.
00:35At the moment, we're not getting enough donations to keep everything going and the demand keeps
00:39going up and up.
00:40Turbans for Australia has been widely recognised for its services, but the charity is hampered
00:45financially.
00:46Since the lockdown ended, I have not seen any grants for food relief specifically, which
00:51really bothers me as a person because I see the need.
00:54It's not just food relief organisations that are struggling.
00:58The Harman Foundation in Blacktown runs a weekly food drive that primarily offers domestic
01:02violence support, counselling and financial aid to culturally and linguistically diverse
01:06communities.
01:07If we are talking about Western Sydney, we know the population here, we know their cultural
01:14barriers, we know what their needs are.
01:17Parinda says the foundation is overlooked due to its small size, putting key services
01:22like its women's shelter at risk.
01:24It's not being known by the politicians.
01:27We have got so much pat on our back that how good we are, but in regards to the funding,
01:33we have nil.
01:34With interest rates holding steady, the future of community-based charities is uncertain,
01:39with several in Western Sydney forced to close over the past year.
01:42People are being driven out of doing good, and that really bothers me.
01:48Helping Hands in need of Helping Hands.
01:54www.helpinghands.org
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