Woollahra Council announced a new support package for local victims of domestic violence this week, which will be used to maintain 10 transitional units to aid vulnerable women and their families for up to three years.
The agreement between council and non-profit Women’s Housing Company will provide $330,000 in funding and run from July until June 2025, in a move that Women’s Housing Company chief executive Debbie Georgopoulos said would continue to deliver a “housing solution to a group of women and children who would otherwise have nowhere to go”.
‘Increasing number of women’ subject to abuse in Woollahra, says mayor
Susan Wynne. Photo: Woollahra Council.
The Woollahra Domestic and Family Violence Accommodation and Support Program, which was introduced in 2019, seeks to allow women ineligible for social housing to remain in the area and works on an income-rent model, where residents pay 25 per cent of their income for weekly rent, while council subsidises the remaining balance.
Woollahra Mayor Susan Wynne said that “there are an increasing number of women who are subject to domestic violence, including psychological and financial abuse” in the Woollahra area.
A resident under the program said that it has “given me and my boys a roof over our heads that I could afford; an apartment close to my boys’ school and to my family”.
“I had wanted to leave for years but couldn’t find a way for me to leave with my boys safely,” the resident, whose name had been changed to Sally for privacy reasons, said.
“It has given me and my boys a sense of normality and stability so we can try and have a sense of control over our lives.”
If you are or someone you know is affected by domestic, family or sexual abuse, call 000 in case of emergency, or ring the NSW Domestic Violence Line on 1800 656 463. Both services are available 24/7.
