15/10/2026
When does a cost of living crisis stop being a crisis and become everyday reality?
This Anti-Poverty Week, we think it's a question worth asking.
We hear the term 'cost of living crisis' every day. But a crisis suggests something temporary. Something that will eventually end.
For many people in our community, financial hardship isn't temporary. It's their everyday reality.
At The Spiers Centre, we're seeing more working families struggling to afford the basics, more people facing housing insecurity, and more people asking for help for the very first time.
And while at some point in the future, lower interest rates or cheaper groceries might help, they won't suddenly undo years of financial hardship.
We cannot emergency-relief our way out of poverty.
Food parcels and emergency assistance are essential, but we also need lasting solutions that address why so many people are struggling in the first place.
That's why we support the Financial Wellbeing Collective's call for a Cost of Living Strategy for Western Australia - a long-term approach that focuses on affordable housing, financial wellbeing and helping people before they reach crisis point.
We also need to change how we talk about poverty.
Through our It Starts with Hello campaign, we're reminding people that financial hardship is not a personal failure. There is no shame in asking for help.
💙 Poverty is not inevitable. But neither will it disappear simply because the economic headlines improve.
For over 46 years, The Spiers Centre has been here for our community, and we'll continue to advocate for a future where fewer people need emergency assistance in the first place.
That's what Community supporting Community is all about.
