Safe housing is the vital first step needed to help someone flee domestic and family violence, according to Helping Hands panellists, Libby Caskey from the Women’s Housing Company; Steve Frost, founder at Horizons Family Law Centre; and Dave Kramer, founder of the HALT program and ambassador at Small Steps 4 Hannah.
Almost half of all people facing homelessness are women fleeing domestic and family violence. That’s why safe housing is a crucial first step for someone escaping abuse.
In this Helping Hands panel discussion, we speak with Women’s Housing Company Community Development Manager, Libby Caskey; Horizons Family Law Centre founder, Steve Frost; and Dave Kramer, founder of the HALT program and ambassador at Small Steps 4 Hannah, about the importance of safe housing for victims of domestic and family violence.
According to Libby Caskey, safe housing often means the difference between a woman staying trapped in violence or finding the courage to leave.
“It's the foundation of the rest of her life,” she says. “If we can provide her with a safe, secure place, everything else then has the space to follow.”
The different kinds of housing solutions
For families leaving abuse, there are various stages of accommodation available.
Crisis accommodation is the initial short-term solution for those who have recently fled. After that, there is temporary 'transitional’ accommodation, followed by social housing. (Subsidies are available for private rent, but the current housing crisis makes this option unattainable for most).
The NSW government also offers the ‘Staying Home Leaving Violence’ program, which facilitates a way for victims to stay in their own home, while perpetrators must leave. This option can be difficult to achieve, due to lengthy legal processes but it can be one of the best outcomes, says Steve Frost, who provides legal support for people fleeing violence.
“Housing is interconnected to everything else in a family's life,” Steve says. “They may have deliberately chosen to live in a certain area in order to access a particular school. Moving home puts that schooling in jeopardy.
“Wherever you end up living ultimately, will also impact on what kind of arrangements are possible for the children to see the other parent.”
The Women’s Housing Company is a holistic service, helping around 1700 women and children each year with not only housing, but life-transforming social and wellbeing supports.
“The moment they get a house, we continue to walk alongside them for their entire journey,” says Libby.
Likewise, Hannah’s Sanctuary, an estate of nine townhouses in Queensland, provides all the services a family needs to rebuild their lives for up to eighteen months.
“They can have access… to all the wraparound services that they might need, right there at their home,” says Dave Kramer, “It's really the beginning of…rebuilding their lives free from violence.”
Why doesn’t she just leave?
As an advocate for respectful relationships, Dave is often asked, Why don’t victims just leave? The reasons are often complex and related to sheer survival.
Dave says a better question to ask is, How can I help her?, or, Why is her partner abusive, and how can I support an end to that abuse?
“Those questions are really going to get us to the core of the problem… to prevent violence from happening.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or distress, please call 1800 RESPECT, or Lifeline: 13 11 14.
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