A safe home in Melbourne’s south-east has opened for young women escaping early or forced marriage following a large fundraising and building effort from women in Victoria’s construction industry.
TEN Women, the Property Industry Foundation and Hansen Yuncken recently completed the pro-bono extension and refurbishing of the safe home for the youth homelessness charity, Lighthouse Foundation.
The safe home is designed to meet the recovery needs of young women aged 15 to 25 years who are escaping early and/or forced marriage in Melbourne. They will be moving into the home this week.
Speaking at the opening of the safe home, Lighthouse’s Therapeutic Case Manager, Manuela said the Young Women Freedom Program provides protection and safe spaces for the women to speak about their trauma and experiences so we can support them to heal.
“The program is a vital step towards ensuring these women know they have a right to choose their own paths and to foster a generation of empowered, educated, and confident women to live free from fear and live their full potential,” Manuela said.
TEN Women, a group of female leaders in the construction industry, raised $640,000 at a fundraising event to support the project in May 2022.
Property Industry Foundation contributed a further $200,000 to the renovation, while Hansen Yuncken joined forces with TEN Women to provide materials and over $100,000 worth of pro bono support from consultants, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers.
“The purpose of TEN Women is to build connections through our industry, and we realised a couple of years ago that we had a pretty powerful network that we wanted to leverage to do good things,” Hansen Yuncken Executive Director and former director of TEN Women, Louise Hansen said.
“Partners and subcontractors have been encouraged to donate their time and/or supplies to the house so that the money can be put into the home itself, making sure it is as comfortable as it can be.
“It’s certainly very satisfying to make a real difference to the lives of these young women who have already been through so much.”
CEO of the Lighthouse Foundation, Brenda Boland also thanked Provincial Home Living for supplying furniture and T-House for providing soft furnishings for the home.
“Donations and partnered projects from businesses and the community allow Lighthouse Foundation to support more vulnerable young people in need, ” Boland said at the opening of the safe home.
“The number of young people in Victoria facing homelessness is sadly growing with the current cost of living pressures and housing shortages.
“With the support of businesses and industries in building and construction, we can provide vulnerable young people with a welcoming place where they can access the support they need to heal and live happy, safe, and healthy lives.”
“We are incredibly grateful to TEN women, the Property Industry Foundation, Hansen Yuncken and the numerous contractors, sub-contractors and consultants, Provincial Home Living and T-House who have generously donated their money, time and resources to this vital project.”
Feature image from left to right: Susan Barton AM (Lighthouse Foundation’s Founder), Faten Sadik representing Property Industry Foundation (PIF), Mayor, City of Stonnington, Cr Joe Gianfriddo, Louise Hansen (Executive Director of Hansen Yuncken), Len Warson (Lighthouse Foundation’s Chair) and Bill Mountford (Lighthouse Foundation’s Deputy Chair).