Help For Victims Of Storm

Newcastle Herald

Thursday July 12, 2007

By INGRID BOWN

THREE Hunter charities have joined to distribute $2 million from a relief fund for storm victims battling the loss of homes, cars, income and possessions.

The total value of the fund, established by Newcastle Permanent in the days after the June long weekend storms, is $3.5 million.

St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army and Samaritans will each receive $680,000, but will jointly administer and oversee relief work. The final $1.5 million would be directed to other charities, Newcastle Permanent chief Stephen Porges said yesterday.

While $250,000 of the fund money has come from a Newcastle Permanent donation, and $500,000 from corporate and community donations, the lion's share has come from the Newcastle Disaster Relief Fund, set up after the 1989 earthquake.

Representatives from the three charities said their joining was a first, which they hoped would prevent waste and overlap and ensure everyone was catered for.

"We know that people want to be generous to people who have hit hard times throughout the storm and the flood and our job is to ensure the funds are distributed in a way which is fair and transparent and we want to be accountable," Samaritans chief executive officer Cec Shevels said.

"It could be people on fairly ordinary incomes and they haven't had a comprehensively insured motor vehicle, it could be someone that lost their computer and the student in the family needs the computer in order to complete their studies. We just want to be as flexible as we can."

One of the major issues predicted to emerge is housing shortage and rising rents in an already competitive rental market.

St Vincent de Paul diocesan Maitland and Newcastle president Gwen Sampson said rental accommodation was a "major problem" and would deteriorate as a result of housing losses from the storms.

Many of those seeking assistance after the storms would not be their usual clients, she said.

"It's important for them to know there are many ways we can help them," she said.

Donations to the fund close tomorrow.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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