When her bank balance began to dwindle, Ipswich resident Georgina Graham felt reluctant to approach the Salvation Army for help.
She says her life was turned upside down three years ago when she was forced to leave her job as a school teacher due to a back problem and claims of staff bullying.
Income protection lasted two years, but now money is tight. She receives a $640-per-fortnight pension, however it's impossible to save with medical bills on top of regular costs like rent and food.
Ms Graham is a classic example of a Salvation Army emergency relief client, with the charity saying the people they help are surviving off an average of $17.86 a day after paying for accommodation.
"I can't work because of my PTSD and I've been told I can't go back to the classroom at this stage," Ms Graham said. "I never thought an educated teacher would ever be in this situation."
The Salvation Army's National Economic & Social Impact Survey, released on Wednesday, shows 57 per cent of its emergency relief clients had gone without meals in the last year.
It also revealed about a third of parents weren't able to afford fresh fruit and vegetables for their children on a daily basis.
Ninety-one per cent said they wouldn't be able to find a spare $500 in cash for an emergency, and a similar percentage said they couldn't afford home or car insurance.
There were 2406 respondents to the survey, 63 per cent of whom were women. The largest age bracket were the 35 to 44-year-olds, who made up 32 per cent of respondents.
Eighty-eight per cent of respondents were on some kind of government support and the average assisted household had 2.3 children, the survey said.
Ahead of this weekend's annual Red Shield Appeal, Salvation Army Major Neil Dickson said the situation was "dire" and "alarming".
"We would love to see the federal government take charge of a review of social policy around affordable housing, unemployment, mental health issues, as well as the levels of income for people on Newstart allowance and pensions," he said.
"The research indicates people are not finding secure work."
Mr Dickson said the Salvation Army was hoping to raise $9.5 million during the appeal, $1.2 million of which would hopefully come from Queensland.
