Women and children can’t escape domestic violence alone. They need an entire village of support.
But with government funding continuing to be well short of need when it comes to crisis accommodation, one Sydney group has come up with a novel approach for establishing and operating a new hostel for those escaping violence.
The North Sydney Women’s Benevolent Association is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise at least $50,000 to get started.
And it’s working, as of publishing they’d already raised $48,275, and have just raised the target to $70,000, an additional $20,000 that will enable two more woman and their children to stay in the shelter for three months.
Louise McCoach, a consultant with law firm G&T, is working hard along with other business and community representatives to build the ‘village’ that can help support these women.
Having met her at a function on Tuesday, she told me she’s busy approaching as much media as possible for support because she knows that when other people hear about such a campaign, they will want to get involved.
The new hostel called Mary’s House will provide crisis accommodation for women and their dependent children. It will provide 19 beds, and lists various costs of maintaining the facility on the fundraising website.
One woman in the consortium is Lisa McAdams, a domestic violence survivor who credits her time in a shelter with saving her live.
The group has also enlisted the support of Chris Bath, who opens a video promoting the campaign (see below).
According to the group, a number of care providers in the area including the North Sydney Police have said the need for such accommodation is overwhelming. At least one in two women seeking a bed are turned away every day.
While the fact government funding isn’t available to open and maintain such shelters is disturbing, the passion and commitment behind this group is heartening.
It shows that men and women do want to support those who’re most vulnerable, and that it is possible to come together to make a serious difference to the lives of others – in this case, potentially saving the lives of women and children.
This is a local solution to a national problem. It’s one that could potentially be replicated all over the country.
With leadership and innovation, a village can and will help. We can’t wait to see the next stage in this project.
Check out the crowdfunding campaign here.
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