The Donovan family is doing it tough but is still managing to smile, with the help of Vinnies.
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The charity has provided a home in Tuggeranong for the family of five while they wait for government housing.
Sean Donovan, 27, a formwork carpenter, injured his back at work 2½ years ago.
"Now I can't do anything," he said.
"After I hurt my back I had some mental health issues come up and since then I've found it difficult to hold a job or do retraining."
Sean, his wife Eerika, and children Asher, Caden, and Riley, need a helping hand and, in turn, St Vincent de Paul Society needs community support to keep the help going.
The charity asked the family to speak to the media to promote Vinnies' Christmas appeal and they were happy to participate.
"We were living in an overcrowded situation before, with Eerika's parents ... having space of our own is just great," Sean said.
Eerika Donovan said when her husband was not able to continue in his chosen field, they could not afford the weekly rent.
"We lived with my parents for three months and that was a three-bedroom house with four adults and three kids," she said.
"We got in touch with Vinnies and they were able to offer this house for us to live in until we get a government house.
"It is still stressful while we're waiting for housing, but it does help a lot knowing we have a roof over our heads and we don't have to burden anyone else."
Frank Brassil, president of the St Vincent de Paul Society for Canberra-Goulburn, said the charity responded to about 23,000 calls for assistance in the region last year.
"We spent over a $1 million just in emergency assistance for people," he said.
"People can get stuck in a hole and they just need a bit of help to deal with their problems.
"If we can lift them up out of that situation and send them on their way so they can manage the rest of their lives as really productive and happy people, that's the outcome we're after."
His responsibility extends from Young to Eden, with about half the assistance going to the ACT.
"Sadly, for many people Christmas is a time they feel further isolated from society if they don't have support networks," Mr Brassil said.
"Families struggle with large household bills and the stress of the school year looming can leave families feeling helpless.
"With housing affordability and utility bills putting more pressure on families than ever before, they are left with very little income, and unfortunately our most vulnerable are left behind.
"As Christmas approaches, calls for help to the society have increased and are expected to grow until the end of December.
"We've seen an increase of 40 per cent in calls for assistance over the past few months and expect the need to grow.
"The start of the school year is a particularly difficult time for people and they call on us for help with all sorts of things related to getting back to school.
"The significant part of our reasoning there is that we don't want kids from families who are struggling to feel excluded when they go to school.
"One of the real problems of poverty in our community is not just the fact that they've got fewer resources than other people, but that sense of exclusion."
In the ACT-Goulburn region, the society expects to hand out about 2000 Christmas hampers which will include donated and some bought food and toys for families with children.
"Christmas is such a vital time in our community and culture and the worst thing that can happen is for families and individuals to feel excluded at that time," Mr Brassil said.
