Red Cross reports on Australians’ views on the needy
The Australian Red Cross has published a survey on the attitudes of Australians towards vulnerable people.
A large majority (89 per cent) of elderly people living alone think they need more community help.
But just 40% of Australians have personally helped such people in the past 12 months.
Older Australians living by themselves were viewed as the most vulnerable group in Australia, followed by people with a mental illness and homeless people.
Of all the groups, the elderly living alone receive the most time from others, with 24% of Australians volunteering their time for them (though this figure includes relatives helping each other).
But just six per cent of financial donations given by Australians in the past year went to elderly people living alone.
