These families made about 300 requests for assistance during the past 12 months, resulting in about $50,000 in support being administered in the local community.
Conference secretary Daphne Greaves said the most demand was for rent and electricity.
‘‘Rent is so high in Moama that people are becoming unstuck,’’ she said.
Yesterday on realestate.com, there were only 12 properties for rent in Moama ranging from $220 to $475, while Mathoura had just one.
‘‘High rent and electricity is causing a big problem. With no increase in Newstart payments, some are paying nearly half their income on rent, and a lot of these come under private rentals,’’ Mrs Greaves said.
According to Ray White Echuca principal Lynn Hall, the average weekly rental for units was $265 and $330 for houses.
Elders Real Estate principal Dean Costello said the average three-bedroom home rented for about $350.
To make matters worse, rentals are becoming harder to come by.
‘‘Over the past 12 months, we have seen a consistently low vacancy rate, with around 30-50 properties advertised on realestate.com.au in the Echuca-Moama area,’’ Mrs Hall said.
‘‘When you consider that in 2009-12 there were an average of 180 to 200 properties advertised, you can understand why prospective tenants are finding it difficult to find a suitable home.
‘‘We are continuing to see a number of applicants come from outside our local area, moving to Echuca-Moama for work and or lifestyle and investors have seen increased returns over the past 12 months due to the lack of supply.
‘‘I don’t expect there will be a big increase in the number of available properties in the near future.’’
Elders Residential has three rentals available in Moama after four properties were leased in the past week.
‘‘Demand is outweighing supply at the moment,’’ he said.
‘‘As soon as we get them, they’re being rented out pretty much straight away.
‘‘And rental prices have gone up significantly in the past 18 months.’’
Mrs Greaves said rental prices combined with the rise in electricity costs was proving too much for many residents in Moama.
And like last year, demand for financial help was only expected to increase over winter, she said.
Mrs Greaves said quite a few new families from across the Conference’s support area, which includes Deniliquin, Moama, Mathoura, Moulamein and Wakool, approached the charity for help and support this year.
‘‘This last financial year has been very hectic,’’ she said.
‘‘We saw 126 new families seeking assistance, giving us a total of 404 families for the year.
‘‘This last year we gave out food vouchers to the amount of $36,490, food parcels to $19,900, medical $1200, accommodation $27,200 and fuel to $8238.
‘‘Government Energy Accounts Payment Assistance vouchers amounted to $92,650 and Telstra bills $14,430.’’
The Conference relies heavily on donations to be able to support families in need.