A new Ballarat charity is hoping to pay a month's rent for those suffering from financial pressure ahead of one of the most stressful times of the year.
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Raise the Rent was recently launched by Dann and Sarah-Jane Thompson after the couple anonymously paid a week's rent for someone they heard was struggling.
After tracking the couple down, Mr Thompson said a phone call with the woman was the catalyst for the foundation.
"She explained that she didn't think people were still good anymore and due to COVID, she was in a really dark place... she was having really bad thoughts and she was mother of three kids and just that one week's rent gave her enough strength to put her head up and breathe and go and tell someone she wasn't doing very well," he said.
"She was just so bogged down in bills and everything and it really got to us both so we thought, what are we gonna do here, because we like to do this sort of stuff. We decided to set up a foundation called Raise the Rent."
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Despite only launching recently, the charity has already raised about $8500, but with a month's rent worth roughly $2000, Mr Thompson said more donations were needed.
"We just wanted to give people that December where they could look up and breathe and maybe have enough strength to go and recognise they're really stressed and go and get some help or just have Christmas laughing around the table with their family or what have you, that's what it's all about," he said.
"That's why we pay in December, Christmas is supposed to be a happy time and home is where the heart is and if you don't have to worry about your rent for that month, it might make it feel better or safer or more comfortable just in that they know that it's secure for the month."
With the charity only recently being launched, the couple has already paid the rent for some families out of their own pocket and have received more than 150 stories of people or families struggling with financial stress.
"We've had more than 150 people that have put their details forward and some of these stories, we sit around nearly crying our eyes out because they're stories of just such horrendousness. Obviously, we can't help everybody unless people just dig in," he said.
"The point that we really just can't stress enough is whether people pay $5, $100 or $1000, whatever they can give, we just need as much as they can."
While the first year has been a scramble, the Ms Thompson said the charity was a long-term project with a whole year of fundraising leading to paying the rent for people in December.
"This is going to be an ongoing thing. This isn't just this year, we do want to continue it so that every December from now on we do this, it's not just a once off thing," she said.
"This is our first year so it was kind of jammed into a small space, but as of next year, we're gonna do a calendar of events and have more time and be more prepared. We plan on this being it forever, pretty much."
For more information, to donate or to nominate someone who needs assistance, visit raisetherent.com.au.
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