What would you do if you couldn't keep warm?

What would you do if you couldn't keep your family warm? How would you stay safe if you didn't have a home to shelter in? Where would you turn if you couldn't put food on the table?

When faced with unexpected circumstance and uncertain times, many people across the south west turn to Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Qld Ltd.

With winter just around the corner, we're preparing for what is traditionally a challenging time. The colder weather is usually accompanied by increased requests for support from struggling families and individuals. The added strain of the COVID-19 pandemic will severely stretch our resources.

The need has never been greater.

The need in our community has never been greater, with one in six children in Australia living in poverty and a 22% increase in the number of people seeking food support from a charity in the last 12 months.

Sadly, these statistics will continue to rise, as will the need for mental health services, as the rate of unemployment increases and social isolation grows due to COVID-19.

If we work together, we can help change the story for many of the most vulnerable in our community.

We need your help.

In this time of social distancing, we urge you to donate funds rather than items to our winter appeal so as to limit your movement within the community.

Your donation will make the world of difference to a person who is really struggling. You'll not only be keeping people warm, but filling hungry bellies and connecting people with professional counselling and material support.

Or you can create your own fundraiser and involve your friends, family and colleagues in raising additional funds in support of this appeal. Every donation helps and we need your tax-deductible donations to ensure we are there when we are needed most.