St Vincent de Paul say the pandemic has brought about changed circumstances for so many people that they are now helping families that would never have needed their help in the past.
More than 100 families in the city turned to the charity for help in recent weeks with communion and confirmation bills which came at a time when many were struggling to get over the back to school costs.
St Vincent de Paul say they are now helping more middle-class families than ever who are trying to keep their poverty a secret from friends and neighbours.
The charity's South West regional co-ordinator Gerry Garvey told RedFM News says the pandemic has hiit some people's finances very hard.
"I think everyone has suffered during the pandemic, but some people more than others.
"if people have lost business or lost jobs, they've probably been dipping into whatever savings they've had over the last 18 months, so at this stage there's very little left in the kitty for most people.
"If you get an unexpected expense like communions and confirmations that were deferred over the last few months, a lot of them have come through over the last few months so we have been helping some people out."
