New refuge for women and children opened in Gunnedah

A new Core and Cluster refuge for Aboriginal women and children fleeing domestic and family violence has opened in Gunnedah.

Transcript

00:00Family and domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness and no

00:04woman should have to choose between staying in a violent relationship or

00:08becoming homeless. This Homelessness Week I'm pleased to open Lilypilly Place

00:13owned and run by Aboriginal controlled community organisation Ganita Gunya.

00:19Securing safe housing is a critical hurdle to overcoming domestic and family

00:24violence and this new core and cluster refuge in Gunnedah comprises five

00:29self-contained dwellings with a suite of on-site specialist services such as

00:33counselling and legal assistance and employment support at the core. The new

00:39refuge is supported by 5.68 million dollars in capital and service delivery

00:43funding and delivering the refuges under the core and cluster model ensures that

00:49victim survivors have got access to wraparound services when they escape

00:53violence so that they can stay safe and plan for the future. We know that safe

00:59housing is a critical part of the matrix of support that we can provide women and

01:05children who need to leave a violent relationship and that is particularly

01:09the case in our regions and it's fantastic to have another women's refuge

01:13opening its doors in regional New South Wales. This particular refuge is

01:18receiving over five million dollars of New South Wales government funding and

01:21that's part of a 400 million dollar commitment to providing more women's

01:27refuges across New South Wales.