Centre's closure puts families at risk

Rockingham Emergency Relief will close its doors on June 29, with volunteers uncertain if it will reopen.

The closure of the centre, which helps up to 1800 struggling families and people a year, is the result of a lack of Federal Funding to Anglicare WA, which has in turn stopped its support for the site.

Centre co-ordinator Suzanne Macro said without a charitable organisation, the centre could not run and they were desperately looking for another organisation to take the centre under its wing.

"We are in limbo," she said.

"We have until the end of June to find a solution - we may have to close down and restart as our own charity, but we don't know how long that will take," she said.

Mrs Macro said the centre had enough money to help people for eight to 10 weeks.

"We are devastated," she said.

"A lot of the other services in the region only take appointments for emergency relief, so a lot of people will have nowhere to go."

Long-term volunteer Gillian Harris said the centre needed at least $1000 a week in vouchers to cater to the struggling families and homeless.

"We are on tenterhooks because we don't know what is going to happen," she said.

"It is terrible, extremely stressful, because we actually know a lot of these people and we are the ones who will have to tell them - it will be the hardest thing in the world."

Anglicare WA executive general manager Mark Glasson said losing Federal funding for emergency relief had driven change and the service offered in Rockingham would be altered.

He said the new model had the ability to support people more effectively, with emergency relief being provided through collaboration with other services.

Department of Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said last year the Government undertook a competitive tender for community organisations seeking funding.

"My first priority is ensuring there are no gaps in critical frontline services while we work through the transition of services to new funding arrangements," he said.

"Emergency relief will continue to be provided to those who need it."

However, Brand MHR Gary Gray said the Abbott Government was ripping at the heart of the community sector and it was having catastrophic consequences in Rockingham. "This is a clear acknowledgement that the Abbott Government's cuts have significantly compromised services, but provided only a short-sighted political fix," he said.

"Organisations are being forced to cut back services and staff and some have already closed their doors forever."

He called on Prime Minister Abbott to reverse the $270 million in cuts to community organisations in last year's Budget.