Vulnerable NSW Families to Receive Vital Housing Support Through New Funding this Homelessness Week

This National Homelessness Week (3–9 August), 22 women and their families escaping domestic and family violence – including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families – will benefit from $220,000 in funding to upgrade and refurbish specialist accommodation. 

Raised through Homes for Homes’ innovative model, the funding will support two community housing projects in New South Wales, providing safe and secure accommodation for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage as a result of domestic and family violence.  

With more than 122,000 people experiencing homelessness every night, including nearly 54,000 women, this funding comes during a week that calls on communities and governments to take tangible action towards ending homelessness –and just days before Census night on 11 August, when Australians experiencing homelessness must be accurately counted and seen. 

Congratulations to the following successful projects: 

• $90,000 to Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter, to go towards the refurbishment of a 10 bedroom ‘core and cluster’ shelter in Mona Vale, Sydney, offering independent, self-contained accommodation for four households and a hub for delivery of outreach services. The Northern Beaches LGA has no other specialist domestic and family violence crisis accommodation. 

• $130,000 to Waminda South Coast Women’s Health & Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation, to go towards furnishing and equipping five dwellings to provide safe, comfortable, and culturally appropriate accommodation for Aboriginal women, with or without children, who are escaping family and domestic violence in Nowra, New South Wales. Waminda is an Aboriginal women-led community-controlled health organisation. 

Awarded as part of Homes for Homes’s tenth grant round, the funding was made possible thanks to partners PEXA and the Danks Trust. The two cheques were proudly presented to both recipients at an event hosted by PEXA in Sydney.  

Both successful projects work on a Housing First model, providing wrap-around services and support that offer people the dignity, stability and independence needed to rebuild their lives.  

More than 35,000 people in New South Wales experience homelessness every night. The stories are complex and delicate; one in four people seeking assistance from homelessness services cited family and domestic violence as their main reason for seeking support. For many, home is not a safety net or a foundation for a positive and successful life.  

“Housing creates change, and we’re thrilled to continue providing more people in New South Wales the opportunity to have safe and secure housing. We’re particularly proud that these two projects will have a direct, transformational impact on women and families experiencing domestic and family violence, an issue that is a major catalyst for homelessness. 

“I congratulate Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter and Waminda on their funding and look forward to seeing the projects come to life” 

Steven Persson, Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Homes 

Homes for Homes raises funds through participants registering their property, which enables a tax-deductible donation of 0.1% of the property’s sale price or monthly rent to be donated to Homes for Homes. These donations are pooled and are granted to community housing providers to increase the supply of social affordable housing across Australia. 

Since 2015, Homes for Homes has channelled close to $3 million into 28 housing projects nationwide, supporting housing outcomes for more than 400 people. With the support of developers, trusts and the community, Homes for Homes is building a sustainable solution to end homelessness in Australia.  

Photography by Brent Lewin