Womens Community Shelters
Supporting homeless women through the establishment of women’s shelters.
Women’s Community Shelters supports homeless women through the establishment of women’s shelters in partnership with local communities. Having recognised a strong local need, WCS is seeking funding to work with a community on the Mid North Coast of NSW to establish a shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence.
2015 Pitch
Funds raised: $25,830
WCS pitched to The Funding Network in May 2015 and raised $25,830 to set up a new shelter in Forster-Tuncurry.
The impact...
One of the most basic needs in the world is safety. Night by night, 46,000 Australian women are not safe, because they do not have a roof over their heads. 75 per cent of these women have not been safe in their own homes due to domestic violence. Shockingly, one in two of these women are also turned away from crisis accommodation because existing shelters simply do not have room for them. The situation is more dire in regional areas, as women work against added challenges such as a lack of money or transport to get themselves out of dangerous living situations.
Women’s Community Shelters is an organisation with a cost-effective model by which shelters are provided in collaboration with government, philanthropy and community. Using the funding support, the Great Lakes Women’s Shelter became a reality. The money was spent equipping the shelter properties with security needs, furniture, office equipment, upgraded electrical and plumbing needs, and minor renovations. The shelter opened in January 2016 and has been at capacity since then. It has since supported 20 women and more than 40 children, and anticipates that it will support around 70 women and 120 children per year from now on. As a result of the new shelter opening, WCS’s shelter network has doubled in size.
One of the residents at Great Lakes Women's Shelter came to the shelter with nothing but her two young children and their clothes. She had been kicked out of home by her husband and told not to return. She had no money, no job, no home and no support network. The shelter staff provided her with immediate food and shelter as well as clothes and other supplies. In addition to helping her to start a course at TAFE, they assisted her to find part time employment and a place to live within three months. This is the crucial value of women’s shelters and WCS - saving lives.
On her way to the new Great Lakes Women's Shelter, Annabelle Daniel explains the impact of the support...
Read their Impact Report
Learn more about Womens Community Shelters.
Supporting Sustainable Development Goals:
