In partnership with Domestic Violence NSW.
It’s twenty four hundred hours on the frontlines of domestic violence and we are still up monitoring calls at the Domestic Violence Crisis Support Service in an unspecified location in Western Sydney. Tonight we are shadowing Emma, a domestic violence practitioner with domestic violence service management (DVSM). DVSM offer a range of services but a large part of their workload involves helping victim-survivors find a safe home.
While we wait beside the phones, Emma explains the different housing pathways available to victim-survivors. She says "the difference between accommodation is; temporary accommodation you can stay in for generally up to 28 days. Crisis or 'refuge' accommodation you can stay in for up to three months. Transitional accommodation you can stay in for up to 18 months and the next step from that is social housing or private rental”.
However, Emma echoes the frustrations we have heard from other frontline workers. “The support services are there but the affordable housing is not. We need more affordable and social housing to reduce the waitlists for victim-survivors of domestic violence”.
The recent five-year funding agreement between the Federal Government and States and Territories on social housing and homelessness doesn’t deliver on the additional funding that homelessness services need to meet this demand. The sector now looks to the NSW budget on 18th June to see what they will deliver for specialist homelessness services on the frontlines who are forced to turn people away.
This pressure can be seen in the Equity Economics Report that showed a mere 3.2% of women and children receiving the long-term housing solutions they need, resulting in over 7,000 Australian women returning to violent partners each year. This is why DVNSW has called on the NSW Government for an additional $54 million per annum for existing domestic and family violence refuges to ensure that no victim-survivors are turned away. The sector is also calling on the state government to build an additional 7,500 social and affordable homes each year for 20 years, to ensure safe and affordable homes for victim-survivors who have escaped domestic and family violence. Frontline staff like Emma also need a minimum of 750 more transitional homes for their clients to have pathways to safety. You can read DVNSW’s budget submission here.
Emma is the 24th and final frontline worker Domestic Violence NSW have featured this May as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This 24 hours on the frontlines campaign run by Domestic Violence NSW uses a series of videos to showcase the pervasiveness of domestic violence in the community and the strength of the sector working tirelessly to stop it.