New Albany crisis accommodation centre for women and children escaping family and domestic violence

A new crisis accommodation centre will be built in Albany, providing refuge for up to 166 women and children escaping family and domestic violence each year. Federal Social Services Minister Anne Ruston last week announced $9.5 million would be injected into three WA projects to provide safe housing for about 400 women and children. Albany-based Southern Aboriginal Corporation is one of three organisations to share in the funding through the Commonwealth’s Safe Places initiative, along with the Salvation Army and Goldfields Indigenous Housing Organisation. SAC will use its $3 million in funding to establish six new self-contained two-bedroom crisis accommodation units in Albany. Anglicare WA will be responsible for operational management of the facility. SAC will provide legal and non-legal culturally appropriate support and trauma recovery through its Family Violence and Prevention Legal Service. SAC chief executive Asha Bhat said family and domestic violence was one of the leading causes of homelessness for women and children. “The new Great Southern Safe Places project will provide six new crisis accommodation dwellings that deliver privacy, security and dignity for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence by incorporating independent self-contained living design features,” she said. “It is believed the communal living style was not suitable for many. “In addition, many people in need of crisis accommodation do not come forward as communal living does not suit their needs and they choose to ‘couch surf’ or sleep rough, or in their vehicle. “The new facility would be able to meet this unmet need and would also suit those unidentified clients who have not pursued crisis accommodation because they require independent living spaces.” Albany Women’s Centre manager Joanna Fictoor said Albany’s existing four-room refuge was “consistently at capacity”, with more than 100 women and children using it each year, and demand from almost 100 extra families. She said the new centre would provide much-needed accommodation and a different approach in collaboration with SAC. “Demand for crisis accommodation is already growing and will only increase due to the shortage of social housing,” Ms Fictoor said. “The current housing crisis in Albany has meant victims of domestic violence have either stayed with the perpetrator to keep a roof over their children’s heads, or they have moved into their cars or are share-housing in overcrowded accommodation. “The new facility will help to meet the unmet demand in the Great Southern for crisis accommodation. “The single-unit accommodation will also provide the option of communal support or independent living spaces, providing women with the choice.”