Economic crisis spawns depression booklet

The national depression initiative, Beyond Blue has released a booklet to help Australians cope with the global economic crisis.

Beyond Blue chairman, Jeff Kennett says many families will find themselves in financial hardship over the next 18 months.

He says the booklet details strategies on how to cope with stress associated with financial loss and retrenchment.

"It's a booklet that helps to focus our attention through education on the things that we need to do if in fact we're in either of those two categories," he said.

"I think more importantly it's designed to educate us all about how to deal with change that might affect our lives and that of our families."

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More families needing emergency support

The welfare group Anglicare says it is noticing a growing need among working families for emergency relief and housing support.

The group, which has more than 400,000 welfare clients, released its annual State of the Family report at Parliament House in Canberra this morning.

Anglicare chairman Dr Ray Cleary says people are applying for its services just to make ends meet.

"Our agencies, day by day, work with disadvantaged people," he said.

"And in particular we have seen over the past few years a growing number of people who are in employment but are now feeling the stress of the current global economic scene."

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Save children not Wall St

The head of World Vision Australia, Tim Costello, says the global market turmoil is threatening progress being made on reducing world poverty.

Mr Costello is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 to halve extreme poverty and hunger.

He says in the last eight years, nearly half a million poor people have been helped and for first time the number of child deaths has fallen.

But Mr Costello says the United States Government's bailout of the banks is now taking those goals off track.

"When we describe a crisis, an emergency like Wall Street, suddenly the money's there," he said.

"When 25,000 children are dying each day from preventable disease and lack of food we don't call that a crisis.

"In my books, in most of the leaders' books here, that's actually a crisis. Why can't we find the money?"

Homeless 'removed' for World Youth Day?

More Than A Bed....? Sydney's Homeless Speak Out and what a shocker for World Youth Day. So what does it all mean? Should we wait for the Pope or should we give these disadvantaged, marginalised and broken people somewhere to sleep for the week. Jesus?

Kevin Simpson from Homeless Voice says men and woman who normally sleep in the city or the Domain have been moved out by authorities.

"I am a little bit surprised they haven't taken more care of the actual people who Jesus came for and that's the disadvantaged, marginalised broken people," he said.

Homeless Voice says during APEC people who sleep on the streets were offered accommodation in motels but not so during World Youth Day.

Shane normally sleeps in the Domain car park.

"Since the Pope and that's been in town we've had to relocate to this open park and if it rains we're sort of buggered, we've got no wind block," he said.

World Youth Day organisers say all Catholic welfare groups remain in operation.

But WYD coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher says the soup kitchen offered in the city has had to be shifted to a neighbouring suburb, Woolloomooloo.

"I know some of them have moved in order to ensure the privacy of those homeless people so they're not surrounded by pilgrims, so they can eat their soup in privacy," he said.

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Quote: And you can see the photo with the big crowd which is meant to press Bishop Anthony Fisher's point, but hardly. You see we are social beings and I don't think the homeless, broken people would have been bothered by pilgrims. In fact that may have made them feel a lot better about their current plight.

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Charities struggling under demand: QCSS

The Queensland Council for Social Service says charity organisations across the state are struggling to keep up with the demand.

Director Jill Lang says recent interest rates rises, skyrocketing land values, increasing rents and higher petrol prices mean more and more people need help.

Ms Lang says families should not be ashamed to ask for help.

"There are a number or ways with support that you can have assistance in perhaps spacing payments so you can meet them over a longer period of time," she said.

"That can work with utilities, for example utilities and gas and certainly [they can] seek financial advice."