www.baysidewomensshelter.org
Bayside Women’s Shelter
| Domestic
violence is the primary cause of homelessness for women and is the leading
preventable cause of death and injury for women between the ages of 15 and
44. Women comprise 44% of all homeless
people in Australia, meaning approximately 50,000 women are homeless each
night. Of those who seek shelter, more
than half are turned away because there is a lack of available crisis
accommodation. With more than one
woman being killed on average each week in Australia – the majority as a
result of domestic violence – there is a need to increase support services to
help women to escape these circumstances.
Shelters such as ours fill part of the services gap. As well as providing safe and supported
accommodation for women and their children in these circumstances, the
Bayside Women’s Shelter helps women to rebuild their lives through access to
counselling, legal, education, financial and employment services. In June 2018, the Board of Bayside Women’s
Shelter established a long-term lease on a property in Botany and refurbishment
works to make the property suitable for a shelter commenced in July
2018. The costs of refurbishment are
met by a combination of in-kind donations and funding from the Shelter’s
fundraising efforts. When it opens, the Shelter will have six bedrooms plus
common areas, computers and internet access, play areas for children, three
bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen, as well as security systems and a
small office and sleeping area for Shelter staff. There will be staff on site
24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide the support that women and children
leaving these circumstances need. The
Shelter is expected to receive its first residents in late October 2018. |
