The REA-led A Home for All Foundation has confirmed that four charities will share in a seven-figure boost, helping women and children escaping domestic violence and housing insecurity.
The biggest slice, $400,000, will go to Women’s Community Shelters, with Justice Connect, Friends with Dignity, and Women’s Safety Services of Central Australia each receiving $200,000.
REA stated that the funds are being funnelled directly into services tackling one of the nation’s most enduring challenges: women and children left without a safe place to sleep.
For Women’s Community Shelters, the funding will help turn an underutilised site into emergency accommodation, transitional homes, and a community hub for women and children survivors of domestic violence.
Justice Connect outlined that it would deploy the cash into its Women’s Homelessness Prevention Program, adding a social worker as well as boosting engagement and training.
Friends with Dignity will expand its work transforming empty houses into fully furnished homes, while also delivering school supplies and scholarships to children caught in the crisis.
In the Northern Territory, Women’s Safety Services of Central Australia will ramp up wrap-around support and alternative accommodation options, helping women move out of crisis shelters and into stable housing.
The support is critical to help women escape family violence and homelessness, Annabelle Daniel OAM, CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, said.
"Domestic and family violence is a leading cause of homelessness in Australia, disproportionately affecting women and children; 88 per cent of our shelter residents are escaping domestic and family violence,” she said.
“The generous donation from A Home for All Foundation will help us transform an underutilised site into a safe, welcoming place for women and children leaving violence.
“It’s the difference between having nowhere to go, and walking through the door to a welcoming home where you are safe, supported, and given the chance to start again."
The money was raised following a campaign which saw more than 350 participants spend a night without a home in October.
LJ Hooker Group CEO and foundation chair Christine Mikhael said the impact would make long-term impacts for crisis victims.
“Through the work of the foundation, our industry is stepping up as a collective to back charitable organisations that make a real difference, so fewer families are at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity,” she said.
“The funds raised through A Night Without Home will create pathways out of crisis and build the foundations for long-term stability.
“It’s estimated that this funding will enable our charity partners to directly support over 2,000 women and children, and another 10,000 individuals will be supported with access to resources.”
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