A time for giving... SdVP helping local families

'ESB bills have been a killer' for some families in run up to Christmas.

Approximately €10,000 to €12,000 worth of food vouchers, coal and ESB vouchers were given out in December to around 200 local people struggling to make ends meet in the run up to Christmas. This is an increase on the monthly average of 50 who seek help throughout the rest of the year.

“We meet once a week and usually have eight to 10 requests for help but, since the beginning of December, there has been up to 25-30 requests a week, but this could rise to 50 on Christmas week,” revealed Lynda Byrne, vice president of the St Patrick's Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Cavan.

Lynda said that increases in Social Welfare have provided some relief but, for some, it is still not enough.

"We have been fortunate with the double children’s allowance, which has been a big help, but ESB bills have been a killer. We see a lot of people who have been able to pay them before but can't now, they’re massive, up to €500-€600 in some cases, which is very hard for people on Social Welfare to pay.”

Lynda explains that each case is reviewed and assessed individually.

“You need to make a request each time, although exceptions can be made if someone is badly in need of support, in which case we would give them a few vouchers. There are always cases where money can go to the wrong place, but vouchers are marked so they can’t be spent on cigarettes, alcohol or lottery tickets,” she explained.

While some people hold off applying for help, many of these will cave and look for assistance in the final few days before Christmas.

“My phone will be lighting up on the two days before Christmas with people looking for help,” predicts Lynda. “Whether it’s for pride or some other reason they avoid looking for help but then they realise they can’t afford to buy things and ring us up at the last minute looking to get help."

The committee meets on Wednesdays to consider requests for help. "But we’ll still be getting calls in after that so the committee members will have to ring each other to discuss cases,” explained Lynda.

Although fewer people are seeking help than a decade ago, Lynda says those who do seem to be worse off now.

“We’re giving out about the same [money wise] as last year, but we’re down a lot compared to 10 years ago. We’ve got a lot stricter in the time since then about what we give out. But those who do receive the packages are a lot needier now than they were back then. There are a lot of people who would never have come to SVdP and are now looking for help. They may have lost a job through no fault of their own, and they are facing mounting rent and are in a very dark hole and now need help.”

She also paid tribute to past members of St Vincent de Paul in Cavan saying: "At this time of the year we also remember our retired members as well as those who have passed away".

Despite fundraising challenges, Lynda says that the people of Cavan have always given generously to their Christmas appeals.

“We used to do a full door-to-door collection all around Cavan collecting money but, during Covid, we couldn’t do that. We sent out letters into people’s letterboxes so people could send us money and they have been very generous. Businesses have been very good, they’re being pulled every which way to give to charity but they’re still great at giving donations," she revealed.