Nearly 16,000 children needed emergency aid over Christmas

One in five children under the age of 15 experience moderate-to-severe food insecurity, report shows. Photo / File

Nearly 16,000 New Zealand children were in need of emergency aid over Christmas and the Salvation Army is warning demand will continue to be an "uphill battle" into the New Year.

The Child Poverty Monitor report by the Office of the Children's Commissioner released this month found that one in five children under the age of 15 experience moderate-to-severe food insecurity.

Those figures were upsetting but not surprising, says Major Pam Waugh, head of welfare services at The Salvation Army.

Waugh said volunteers had handed out 14,394 food parcels, organised budgeting and counselling sessions, and provided housing for 400 families over the festive season.

And the struggle was likely to continue as these families prepared for the school year, she said.

"Extra expenses over the holiday period with kids home from school are an added cost to families living on low incomes," Waugh said.

Registered clinical psychologist at Victoria University Dr Dougal Sutherland said the struggle extended beyond physical needs for children living in poverty.

"Children are the victims of circumstance and can't escape the weight of poverty. Stress on the developing brain can have a major effect on mental health.

"Prolonged poverty can lead to a lack of hope and lower self-worth – major factors in crime and youth suicide," Sutherland said.

"The Salvation Army was facing unprecedented demand for its counselling services from both families and individuals," Waugh said.

"The organisation's counsellors saw daily the stress of poverty leading to poor mental health, family violence and behavioural problems in children," she said.

Together with other Salvation Army services, they are able to help these families build a better future, she said.

"It's incredibly heart-breaking to hear children take on the pressure of financial hardship and say they need to find ways to get money to help Mum and Dad," Waugh said.