Women and children fleeing family violence will be among those supported this year by the Hobsons Bay Community Fund.
Footscray-based Women’s Health West has received a $5000 grant for its women’s refuge at Hobsons Bay.
Refuge worker Amanda, who cannot be identified for safety reasons, said the refuge housed four families at any given time.
Last financial year, 55 women and 79 children found shelter there.
After fleeing a family violence situation, women usually have to leave their job, with their children changing schools, to avoid being followed back to the refuge by the perpetrator.
“This $5000 will go towards an emergency relief fund,” Amanda said.
“They arrive at the refuge with little or no money. Obviously, if they don’t have permanent residency, they don’t have any income from Centrelink or whatever.”
She said the money would also be used for food and transport vouchers, including costs for travelling to court for intervention orders.
“We provide them with taxi vouchers … we don’t want them to be too visible outside court as the perpetrators are going to be there,” Amanda said.
“We also provide them with manchester so when they come to the refuge we set up the room for them. And they take all that with them when they leave because obviously that can be quite costly, setting up another new home and having to buy all of that sort of stuff.
”We also give them clothing. Some ladies arrive with nothing and they might have five kids in tow, so we provide them with clothing and vouchers and Telstra phone vouchers.”
Amanda said there was a dearth of funding for family violence.
“And there’s lots of different organisations putting in submissions for the same pot of money. This money we’ve got will go part way to providing the emergency relief needs, and we’re so grateful for that; it will keep us going for a while,” she said. “The rest of the organisation has seen a huge increase in referrals as well.”
Fund chairman Hayden Raysmith said this year’s 11 grant recipients shared in $30,678.
Now in its ninth year, the fund has provided more than $120,000 in grants to 55 community groups.
The Hobsons Bay Community Fund grants night will
be hosted this year at the Kooringal Golf Club, which has joined Signcraft, Qenos, ComptonGreen, UMS and Star Weekly as corporate supporters.
The event is on November 12, 5-7pm.
For more information or to donate, visit www.whwest.org.au/about-us/donations or call 9689 9588.
