Families across Western Australia are turning to emergency relief just to get through the week, as a new WACOSS report reveals the growing strain of the cost‑of‑living crisis on households and frontline services.
Journeys Through the Emergency Relief System, released today, captures the lived experience of people facing financial crisis and the organisations supporting them.
Backed by the Lotterywest Peaks Devolved Grants Program, the project brings together raw personal stories and a detailed journey map that exposes what navigating emergency relief really looks like when money, stability, and safety are slipping away.
The report is the latest in a series of WACOSS publications highlighting the escalating pressures on WA households and the essential role community services play in preventing deeper harm. What emerges is a stark picture: emergency relief is no longer a short‑term safety net — it has become a lifeline.
Through powerful case studies and firsthand accounts, participants describe emergency relief as the support that keeps food on the table, keeps the lights on, and often provides the first step toward safety, housing, and long‑term recovery. Their stories lay bare the reality faced by thousands across the state: ER isn’t optional. It’s survival.
Key Findings
Across the case studies and the journey‑mapping workshop, people shared experiences that were honest, vulnerable, and deeply moving.
“ER kept us from literally starving.”
When income disappears, when rent takes everything, when unexpected bills pile up faster than you can breathe, ER becomes the difference between eating and going without.
Housing is everything.
The moment people secured stable housing, their need for ER fell away almost overnight. Without a safe place to live, everything else unravels. With it, people can finally start to rebuild.
ER opens the doorway to safety.
Many only found housing, financial counselling, mental health support, or protection from violence because they first reached out for ER. A food voucher or bill payment often becomes the first step toward a safer, more stable life.
Regional communities are being left behind.
Some regional organisations receive no ER funding at all, despite vast distances, high need, and limited services. People are doing everything they can – but geography shouldn’t decide who gets help.
Services are exhausted.
Demand is so high that some providers run out of support by mid‑morning. Staff are doing everything humanly possible, but the system is stretched far beyond its limits.
This report is part of a growing body of WACOSS work showing the reality of life in WA:
Even full‑time work is no longer enough to keep many households out of poverty.
A deep dive into the lived experience of financial stress and housing insecurity.
Together, these reports show something unmistakable: people are stretching every dollar, every option, every ounce of effort – and it is still not enough. Emergency Relief has shifted from a one‑time helping hand to a stabilising force in a system that can no longer keep up with the cost of living.
To the people who trusted us with their stories – thank you. Your courage will drive real change. To the organisations who contributed – thank you for showing up with compassion and dignity every day. And to Lotterywest – thank you for supporting this work and for standing with the Emergency Relief sector in Western Australia.