We are now in our 6th year of operation and since opening our doors in January 2016, we have provided shelter and support to 148 women and 178 children.

While having to turn hundreds of women and children away, as we are always at full capacity due to the increasing need for shelter in our area.

In the lead up to our opening the doors in January 2016, the response of the Great Lakes community in regard to opening a domestic violence shelter for women and children was overwhelming, and we need to keep up that momentum to keep our doors open to those in need.

As we are in Regional Australia. we operate under a unique model of service. GLWS is in a tri-partite partnership with the community, Sydney-based private philanthropic organisation Womens Community Shelters (WCS), and Government.

WCS provide private philanthropic and federal government money, operating systems and operational expertise, and are developing a model to demonstrate the social and community benefits of assisting families and individuals dealing with homelessness and domestic and family violence. From 2016, the NSW Government is supporting WCS at state level. The State Government also supports shelters at a community level to provide the services for families that we need now.

As we are the very first Regional Shelter to be established under this model we are the blueprint for future regional development.  The skills we are all building here are available to be replicated elsewhere in Regional Australia.

However, we need to do more, and community input is vital if we are to ramp up how we deal with domestic violence, which must become much more than providing safe places for the human fallout.

Local empirical evidence shows that there is a huge need for short term crisis accommodation. BOCSAR (bureau of crime) statistics in 2014 showed that the Great Lakes area was the fourth highest hot spot for domestic and family violence in NSW, with a DV rate of 569 assaults per 100,000 of population

We require the community to support us in supporting these women and children. 

We are asking for you to donate any amount that you can to help keep our doors open, and in the future to be able to expand the services we are able to offer, such as providing an Outreach service to the women and children on our waitlists by setting up a crisis drop in centre for all community members to access and receive support and information and referral.

         GLWS thanks you for your support, kindness and generosity