Reverend Bill Crews, founder and CEO of the Exodus Foundation, spoke frankly through an organisational press release on Wednesday, after the Foundation registered an increase of 25.2% in the demand placed upon its free meal service. The increase was recorded over a 12-month period since December 2013, and Rev. Crews explicitly identified the cuts of the Abbot government as an underpinning factor for the increased desperation that he and his team are seeing.
The Exodus Foundation states in the press release that it is the "largest frontline provider of free meals to the homeless and needy of Sydney", and its charitable work is run out the the Loaves & Fishes Free Restaurant in the Inner West suburb of Ashfield—it also operates a City of Sydney mobile food van. On a weekly basis, the guests of the Foundation consume:
- 10kg of Vegemite
- 440kg of meat
- 350 loaves of bread
- 540kg of vegetables
- 1,400 litres of cordial
Over the course of 2014, the Abbott government smade cuts in numerous areas, from homelessness to domestic violence, as well as the media and the Canberra war memorial. Rev. Crews explained: "Government money being withdrawn from other agencies is forcing the needy out of welfare programs." The Foundation is not reliant on government funding and has therefore become a "de facto safety net", in the words of Rev. Crews.
The majority of the people who currently rely on the support of the Foundation manage mental health issues and their numbers are also on the rise. The organisation's research shows a 27% rise in the number of mentally ill guests, while 64.6% of the homeless people seen by the mobile food van also suffer mental illness. Furthermore, the research data indicates that approximately 11% of the Foundation's mentally ill guests are veterans who were discharged from the military without meaningful support. In regard to the veterans, Rev. Crews said: "Homelessness was an almost inevitable outcome."
The Foundation's press release also identified higher rent, food price increases and a more challenging unskilled job market as additional factors that are putting pressure on vulnerable members of the community. Rev. Crews spoke of the "working poor", explaining that employment is no longer a guarantee of financial stability in 21st-century Australia. Jobs such as cleaning demand long hours and low remuneration, while dependents are usually part of the picture as well. In addition to the increase in demand for food welfare, the Foundation has seen a 22% rise in the number of working poor guests who visit the restaurant site or pick up food parcels.
Countless stories of unexpected homelessness exist in the media: The Priceonomics blog helped a former television screenwriter—who earned nearly half a million dollars annually—return to work after he lost everything, including his marriage, and became homeless. Meanwhile, research published in 2013 showed that American home foreclosures are comparable to the Great Depression. As the Foundation explains, many of its guests are "only one pay packet away from homelessness," and this is also relevant to members of the broader population.