Share on Twitter
While it’s often spruiked as the happiest time of the year, Christmas can also be lonely and stressful.
And during a challenging year upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, charities and services say more Australians have been feeling the strain as they grapple with the emotional and financial fallout of 2020.
The Salvation Army is always busiest at this time of year as it provides hampers, gifts, meals and accommodation for those in need, but the organisation expects Christmas 2020 to be its biggest ever.
“There’s lots of new faces, lots of new people coming to the army who quite possibly were donors last year,” the organisation’s national public relations secretary Bruce Harmer told SBS News. “This year they’re needing our support.”