Requests for help with back to school costs increases by 15%

REQUESTS for help with spiralling back-to-school costs in the county are up by 15 per cent compared to last year, according to the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP).

In the last week, 45 new people have sought help from SVP’s Cherry Orchard conference, and 36 of those people were specifically seeking assistance with back-to-school costs, according to Marie Cronin, east regional president of SVP.

There has been an increased demand in assistance from local conferences of the charity, as the reopening of schools – and the associated costs that come with it – have come to the fore in recent weeks.

Ms Cronin told The Echo: “There are a number of reasons why the demand has increased.

“First of all, the Confirmation and Communion help we gave back in March and April. A lot of the Confirmations and Communions were cancelled, so people used that assistance for other purposes.

“When it came to the ones that actually took place, the parents had to use what they saved for back-to-school to afford it.

“So, people who wouldn’t normally come to us are coming to us because of this.

“There are also a lot of parents who’ve lost their jobs or been laid off for months. Being laid off has put a huge strain on people.

“For children who are going to secondary school, the price of uniforms has gone up, and parents are also worried because those kids will need phones and laptops to do homework if there’s another lockdown.”

The implications of the pandemic have also meant the society has had to change the way it operates its services, which has led to an increased workload for the charity’s volunteers.

“The stress on the members of the society is quite severe at the moment,” explained Ms Cronin.

“Apart from the paperwork, it’s trying to sort these kids out with laptops, and with social distancing we can’t go into people’s houses so it’s difficult to have conversations with them – we don’t want to be having conversations about their needs on their doorstep.”

There has also been a jump in people requesting assistance from the charity, who’ve never previously availed of their help.

“We have people coming to us who’ve never come to us before,” explained Ms Cronin. “We’ve had people who are extremely embarrassed about it.

“They’ve told us that they used to give money to the society, that they never thought they’d need to ask for help from us.”

However, Ms Cronin has stressed that people who need assistance should contact SVP, and the society’s members will do their best to help.

“I would tell people who are struggling to come to us, pick up the phone,” she said.

“We’ll help you and we’ll see what we can do for you. We’ll be able to help in one way or another – we’re here to help.”

People seeking assistance can call SVP’s Dublin office on 01 855 0022 and they can direct you to your local office, while parish offices can also direct people to their local conference

of SVP.