Margot P. (name changed by the editors) separated from her partner last fall and stayed in the apartment with their three children. Because the childcare allowance for the baby had just expired, her only income was family allowance. However, this meant she was unable to cope with the high rent and energy costs. At that time, work was out of the question because she had no childcare place.
In desperation, the young mother turned to Caritas social counseling. With the support of Caritas, Margot P. applied for social and housing assistance. She also initiated the determination of child support. “Because processing these applications can take several months, we supported Ms. P. financially during this time,” explains her social advisor. All applications have now been processed and Margot P. is making ends meet again.
However, the single mother is not an isolated case. More and more people are finding themselves in financial trouble. The high costs of housing drive many people into poverty – and also into the Caritas social advice center in Vöcklabruck: more than half of the consultations are about problems with housing and energy costs.
A total of 500 adults and 181 affected children were supported in the Vöcklabruck district last year. The people who come to Caritas social counseling have to spend on average more than 40 percent of their income on rent, electricity and heating alone. Across Austria, the average household burden for housing and energy is 21 percent. “We have already given out more vouchers for food this year than in the whole of last year,” says Patrycja Bojdo from the Caritas social advice center in Vöcklabruck.
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