Welfare leaders say they are worried the state's bushfire crisis may have siphoned off much-needed donations.

Additionally, many of the city's business and private donors are now short of cash due to the tough conditions.

And mounting job losses are creating a tidal wave of Ballarat families seeking help.

Many of these are welfare first-timers, who are unsure and embarrassed about seeking assistance.

3BA Christmas in July Appeal director Peter Caligari said welfare agencies were "doing it very tough.

"We are in no way being critical of the level of support that was given to the bushfire victims, far from it," he said yesterday.

"Those people certainly needed all the support they could get.

"It is just unfortunate now that, coupled with the economic downturn, it is starting to have a dramatic effect here.

"Local families are now not going to be able to receive the support they so desperately require."

Mr Caligari said last year's appeal, which raised almost $110,000 in cash, food and other donations, would need a minimum of $150,000 this year to cope with demand.

His call was supported by major welfare groups.

Maree Bruhn from UnitingCare said her agency had turned away 450 welfare applicants since the start of the year.

She said the city had a housing shortage but some who had public housing struggled to buy furniture.

Anglicare Ballarat coordinator Pauline Prebble said her agency had seen a new type of welfare client _ homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage and buy food because of recent job layoffs.

"A lot of these people find it very humiliating to come forward," she said.

"They were often the ones giving help and now find it hard accepting it."

Ms Prebble said she had seen a rise of 30 per cent in clients who had never accessed welfare before.

Mr Caligari said Ballarat's welfare organisations _ including UnitingCare, the Salvation Army, Anglicare and St Vincent de Paul _ provided a safety net for Ballarat families.

"The only support mechanism for these families in this desperate circumstance comes through these organisations," he said. "They can't turn to anyone else quite frankly."