Welfare agency Samaritans is celebrating 40 years of service to the local community as demand for its assistance has increased over time due to more families struggling to make ends meet.

Founded in 1984 by the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, Samaritans was created to provide compassionate relief to those suffering from poverty or distress, such as sickness, disability, destitution, misfortune or helplessness.

Four decades later, Samaritans has grown to support the people of the Hunter, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast and Mid North Coast through more than 100 programs and initiatives.

“We are incredibly proud of the impact Samaritans has had on the lives of locals for the past 40 years,” Samaritans President Bishop Peter Stuart said.

“We’re offering support to families experiencing great trauma – we help provide safe refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, we provide student accommodation for vulnerable teenagers, and we provide emergency relief to those who are struggling to make ends meet and we are committed to our community.”

Samaritans’ six Emergency Relief (ER) Centres form the frontline of crisis support.

“In the past 15 years alone, we have provided support to more than 113,000 emergency relief cases,” Emergency Relief Coordinator Beth Hanna said.

“This could be help with emergency food parcels, clothing, financial options and a range of other support.

“These cases could be an individual or family, so the true number of people supported through our centres is far more than what the data shows, and we know demand for our help sharply increases at this time every year,” Beth said.

Samaritans has brought forward the start of its annual Christmas Appeal to highlight the growing demand for support at this time of year.

“We are constantly in awe of the willingness of our community to help others,” Bishop Peter said.

“We are again asking anyone who is able to share their generosity to enable Samaritans to support our local community.”

Donations to Samaritans 2024 Christmas Appeal will provide local families with crisis care programs, a safe place to stay, emergency food supplies, Christmas lunch, and gifts to put under their Christmas tree.

IMAGE | Samaritans celebrate 40 years