St Vincent de Paul Society (WA) has been awarded $1.1 million by the Australian Government as part of the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation program.

This funding will allow Vinnies to purchase two new emergency accommodation properties in the high need location of City of Stirling.  In the 2019-20 financial year, Vinnies identified that 39% of its clients entered into Vinnies Housing Plus Program with domestic violence as their primary concern.

Sandy McKiernan, Vinnies Executive Manager Specialist Community Services says that this funding allows Vinnies to have more options for women and children should they need to leave an unsafe situation.

“We are delighted to be a recipient of this funding as the number of clients assisted by our Housing Service continues to rise. We believe that all women and children have a right to feel safe and this grant will allow us to enact early intervention, ensure the safety of tenants and reduce the high risk of people becoming homeless.”

Vinnies will work with Saint John of God’s (SJOG) Horizon House to provide women and children residing in the new accommodation with support services.  Vinnies will fulfill the role of supportive landlord managing all tenancy and property management and SJOG Horizon House as the support agency facilitating referrals and delivering case management and support needs to tenants.

Paul Loseby from SJOG Horizon House says they are pleased to be working with the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide much-needed safe accommodation and support services for the growing number of women and children in the City of Stirling experiencing domestic violence.

“St John of God Horizon House will use our expertise to facilitate referrals and deliver key case management and support for the clients of these new properties in the City of Stirling to help them maintain their tenancies and ultimately, successfully transition out of the program.  St John of God Horizon House has been operating in WA for more than 14 years and has a long-standing relationship with the St Vincent de Paul Society. We are looking forward to working in partnership with the Society to create positive outcomes for this vulnerable group of people.”

The new houses will be fully furnished and in close proximity to public transport.  They will be fitted with safety and security measures that meet domestic and family violence accommodation standards which deliver privacy, security and dignity for women and children living in the premises.

The Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program is part of the Federal Government’s $78 million funding package to ensure there are additional safe places for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence.

You can find out more information on Vinnies Housing Plus Program click HERE 

For more information on the Safe Places grants, visit the Community Grants Hub.