Icelandic Family Aid expects to assist about 700 families or 2,000 individuals in dire need this holiday season. The Reykjavík Committee for the Support of Mothers will assist about 4,000 people with food donations and Christmas gifts, Vísir reports.
Ásgerður Jóna Flosadóttir, head of Icelandic Family Aid, and Aðalheiður Frantzdóttir, CEO of the Reykjavík Committee for the Support of Mothers (Mæðrastyrksnefnd Reykjavíkur) agree that the situation is no better now than in the wake of the banking collapse of 2008. Numerous people are living in poverty in Iceland. Part of the problem is the expensive rental market.
“Those who are the very worst off are the disabled and the elderly,” Ásgerður remarked, “These are people with limited resources who can’t afford celebrating Christmas.”
The Family Aid will hand out food donations before Christmas, both in Reykjavík and Reykjanesbær. Ásgerður stated that those who seek help from the charity are trapped in poverty.
“Numerous people are enjoying the economic boom, but large groups in our society remain left behind,” she remarked. The Committee for the Support of Mothers hands out food donations, Christmas gifts for children, and more.
“Unemployment is not high, but we see students and others in increasing numbers who can’t afford food because of the state of the rental market in the capital area,” Ásgerður explained. “If we had an actual public housing rental market, we could reduce the number of those needing our assistance by about 60 percent. Also, those who are poor are becoming poorer than before—those [that is,] who seek our help.”
