Grant for Women's Shelter - Northern Beaches Advocate

The NSW Government has provided funding for women fleeing domestic violence on the Northern Beaches.

The $50k grant to the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter (NBWS) was presented to NBWS Co-Chair Beth Lawson (image above, right) by Labor candidate for Pittwater in the 2023 NSW Election Jeffrey Quinn (image above, left).

The funds were allocated as part of a program under which Labor committed that if elected to government, every Labor candidate would have a total of $400k in community grants to allocate, subject to probity conditions.

Although Liberal MP Rory Amon (image below, second from right) was elected in Pittwater in the NSW Election, he insisted the handover of the grant be performed by Mr Quinn, similar to the grant for suicide prevention charity MoWaNa.

Mr Quinn said the decision to select the Women’s Shelter, which is in Manly, was made because it helps women in desperate circumstances, no matter where they may be in the Northern Beaches.

(L-R) James Griffin, Jeffrey Quinn, Beth Lawson, Rory Amon, Narelle Hand

They were joined by NBWS Patron Manly MP James Griffin (image above, left) and Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter Manager Narelle Hand (image above, right).

Ms Lawson said the recent conversion of an old garage into an office and administration space had freed up room within the shelter to be used as an activity space for the women.

“Not that long ago, this building was a disused and inhabitable garage, with possums in the roof. It had falling down pieces, and it was unsafe. Between the Board and a few community members, this was done as a pro bono project to give the staff an office because they didn’t have an office,” said Ms Lawson.

Ms Hand said the money was earmarked for a crucial wellness program that helped to restore capacity to women who were often at their lowest ebb.

“The space we now have inside is used as a group activity room. Our wellness program, which runs the Positive Life Skills 360 and an Independent Empowerment Circle, can run that in that area. Staff do the work in here, but we’ve got that private space for the women as well, which has been fantastic.

“What we try and do is from a person-centred model. We look at the person’s interests and needs, then they can be aligned with those activities. We don’t say, ‘you have to do this, you have to do that’. They can do what they want while they’re here. If there’s something specific that they would like to learn as a skill, then we support that,” said Ms Hand.

The Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter is a registered Australian charity that offers crisis accommodation to women who are at risk of homelessness because of domestic violence or financial hardship. They offer an individual case management, outcomes-based approach, assisting women to access permanent accommodation and community support systems and services. For more information, or to contribute to the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter, visit their website.

Images: Northern Beaches Advocate