People Who Care is a volunteer based Western Australian charity who provide services to the frail, aged pensioners, people with disabilities, carers and others with special needs, to enable them to live independently.

Power A Pensioner

People Who Care’s ‘Power a Pensioner’ program is about not letting West Australia’s pensioners who rely solely on the pension be left behind in extreme poverty.

As a community over the last three years we are all aware of the increase in the cost of living. Utilities have increased by 30%, as has transport, rents and food costs. Yet for those reliant on an aged pension with no real increase to pensions, life has become a battle of survival.

The Stories

Power a Pensioner stories include:

1. Finding a 92 year old isolated woman during summer exhausted and dehydrated on her bed. She had been there for two days.  She had severe heat stroke due to his power being turned off and had no access to cooling.
2. Meeting an 85 year old man who had been eating his meals on wheels cold because he could not pay his gas and power bills. He chose to pay the power bill and could not heat up his food in the gas oven.
3. Meeting two 75 year old grandparents who ate one meal a day and showered cold as they wanted their three grand children who where living with them to have three square meals a day.
4. Pensioners living of $40 a week on food and relying on emergency relief from week to week.
5. Meeting a pensioner who turns on her heat for one hour a day as that is all she can afford.

The Vision

Power a Pensioner is about focusing on those members of the community who are neglected, vulnerable and alone and who need someone to speak up for them and represent their interests. People Who Care wants to respond to this neglect by encouraging and organising corporate groups and local communities to become caring and responsible citizens who are prepared to act to make social change. We also want the issue highlighted to government and action to be taken. We believe it is wrong that in a modern and progressive state like Western Australia our pensioners are suffering the cold, going without essential medication with some surviving on as little as $40 per fortnight for food.

Your Donation

100% of the proceeds from the Dine for Life 2011 Spring Dinner will be used to help cover utility costs, provide food parcels and cover emergency rent for pensioners in extreme need. For many pensioners this will mean they may be able to turn heating or air-conditioning on for two to three hours a day rather than one, or even pay a utility bill rather than turning the gas, power or phone off. Other pensioners will be able to subsidize current diets of bread, baked beans and soup with staples such as rice, fruit and vegetables and even poultry, meat or fish. We will even sneak in the odd chocolate and biscuits. In extreme cases rent will be covered for a short period of time so pensioners do not end up on the street. Hard to believe but 1 in 4 pensioners are in danger of being evicted due to rent arrears.

Just $200 can turn a pensioners life around of one of extreme poverty to giving them some breathing space and helping them cope with life. The $200 gives a pensioner time to save for and cover the next set of bills.

CLICK HERE to purchase your ticket to the 2011 Spring Dinner