Mobile phones provide unprecedented access to resources that can help with health and wellbeing, both in terms of access to websites, but also dedicated apps.
The ‘Affordable SA‘ app was brought to my attention by one of our counsellors, who had seen a student who recommended it.
Affordable SA was developed by the Salvation Army and the South Australian Government. It was developed in response to the observation that despite there being many services in the community for those that are struggling, people often don’t realise those services exist or that they might be eligible to use them. As they describe:
“Even with careful budgeting, many households can face difficulties making ends meet. This is why The Salvation Army and the South Australian Government created ‘Affordable SA’, an application that provides a range of information, practical tips, and tools to help support your household to manage the cost of living.”
Students are often a group that is ‘struggling’. Trying to juggle study with work, family and the challenges of everyday life, means many students are just on the edge of making ends meet. If that is you, I recommend loading this app on your Apple or Android device, or visiting the website – https://affordablesa.com.au/
The app (and website) catalogues programs in the following areas:
rent and emergency accommodation
utilities (water, electricity etc)
Through the app, you can also:
- access ‘news articles’ which are essentially descriptions of some of the available services
- find out what events/programs are running near you, and on what dates
- bookmark/favourite the most useful services so you can access them easily again in the future
The app is avaiable for both Apple and Android devices. There is no cost to download or use the app.
You can also visit the website, where you have access to many of the same resources in the app – https://affordablesa.com.au/
For more information, watch this brief video.