Women and children seeking refuge from family violence inCentral Australia will soon have brand new crisis accommodation,thanks to a $6 million grant from the Territory Labor Government.
The grant has enabled the Womens Safety Services of CentralAustralia (WoSSCA), formerly the Alice Springs Womens Shelter, to completely redeveloptheir existing site with the building of a new 13 room crisis accommodationbuilding with capacity for 30 beds.
It has also facilitated the renovation of existing buildingsinto a new learning hub to enable the service to offer a new family space,training kitchen, pantry and an art and craft training room.
It also has a womens space, where women experiencinghomelessness can come to have a meal and shower.
The new facility will provide more flexible, family focusedaccommodation for women and their children in Central Australia who are underimmediate threat from domestic violence.
WoSSCA is a secure, 24/7 crisis accommodation provider, thatalso provides support services for women in Central Australia includingoutreach support and court support.
At 42 years old, WoSSCA is one of the oldest, independently runfamily violence services in Australia.
Alice Springs architect Tangentyere Designs won the project designtender, while construction of the new building and the redevelopment of theexisting building by local firm Asbuild supported 33 local jobs.
Quotesattributable to Minister for Territory Families, Dale Wakefield.
For Territory women, domestic, family and sexual violence isthe single largest driver for homelessness and a major factor in childrenentering the child protection and youth justice systems. But it is preventableand there are solutions.
For 42 years, the Womens Safety Services of Central Australiahas been providing a safe place for women and children in times of crisis.
Investing in locally-driven services to ensure victims ofdomestic, family and sexual violence are protected and helped to recover is animportant part of the Territory Labor Governments $6.49m Domestic ViolenceAction Plan.
The Territory Labor Government is putting victims first andinvesting in key areas that will create generational change and break thecycles of family vulnerability, violence and offending.
Quotesfrom WoSSCA Chief Executive, Dianne Gipey.
Over the past few years, WoSSCA has been transitioning into amodel of trauma informed practice and supporting recovery.
This purpose-built new facility with its semi-independent unitsand spaces for women and children is the final stage in the jigsaw puzzle tosupport victims healing and recovery.
We appreciate not only the funding butthe Territory Labor Governments commitment to reduce domestic, family andsexual violence in the Northern Territory.
