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Jenny's Place

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Jenny's Place (Women and Children's Refuge) was established in 1977[1][2] and was the first women's refuge in New South Wales' Newcastle region.[3] The establishment of Jenny's Place was integral in the response to the recognised need for feminist housing and crisis services for women and children escaping domestic and family violence, part of the original New South Wales Refuge Movement. It was one of the earliest refuges to open following that of Elsie Refuge, Bonnie Women's Refuge and Marrickville Women's Refuge. Today, the refuge continues to operate as Jenny's Place Inc., and is a registered public benevolent charity.[4]

History

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In 1977 a group of passionate women, including Marcia Chapman[5] and Josephine Conway,[3] established the refuge in a run down suburban cottage[5] in Islington.[6] The women approached Joy Cummings, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle at the time and a progressive politician who supported social reform,[7][8] to obtain a building for a refuge. The Jenny's Place website provides the following description of the original refuge building;

An old, two-bedroom house in Newcastle region was retained, which the council charged a peppercorn rent of $1.00 per year. The kitchen was used as an office and we had numerous women and children not only sleeping in the bedrooms but on lounges and mattresses on the floor.[8]

In 1988, Jenny's Place received a new, upgraded building for the purpose of the refuge and the refuge relocated.[6]

Historically, the refuge was funded under the Commonwealth's Support Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). Under the SAAP act, the refuge was allocated ongoing funding, including $40,446 in 1980-81,[9] $185,002 in 1985-1986,[10] a one-off grant of $23,116 in 1992[11] and $1,230,707 in 2015-16,[12] to assist with the ongoing running costs and payment of employees.

Jenny's Place was successful in tendering under the NSW government's 'Going Home Staying Home' reform agenda in 2014, securing funding for their Women and Children’s Supported Crisis Refuge, a Single Women’s Crisis Refuge, Supported Transitional Accommodation and Outreach Support Program.[13] In 2017, the refuge received a crucial charitable grant which allowed for the renovation of the shelter's outdoor facilities and the installation of new children's play equipment.[14][15][16]

In 2008, the shelter established the Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Resource Centre for women requiring non-accommodation support and contact services, funded solely by community support and donations.[17] The service provides women who do not require accommodation with information on how to leave their situation safely, access to counselling and other support services.[17] In September 2019, private funding provided to the resource centre by the Port Waratah Coal Services[18] ran out. The resource centre has since been under threat of closure due to government refusal to allocate the necessary funding.[19][20][21][22] For the 2019 and 2020 period, the government allocated Jenny's Place approximately $1.4 million in funding to support its specialist support services, including its refuge and outreach services,[23] however this funding did not extend to the ongoing operation of the resource centre.

In 2015, Jenny's Place received a $9000 grant from the Equal Futures Project fundraiser.[24] In 2020, the refuge was awarded a $5000 NIB Foundation 'Good Cause Grant'.[25] Today, Jenny's Place receives state government funding through the Specialist Homelessness Services and continues to provides support and crisis accommodation to women and children escaping domestic violence through two refuges,[26] and its outreach program which includes fifteen transitional properties and ten boarding houses.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Wingate-Pearse, Gabriel (24 November 2014). "Jenny's Place helps women start again". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ "About Us". www.jennysplace.org. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b Henningham, Nikki (2018). "Josephine Conway". The Australian Women's Register.
  4. ^ "Jenny's Place Inc". ACNC.
  5. ^ a b "Domestic violence service reflects on 40 years serving Newcastle community". www.abc.net.au. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b NSW Women's Refuge Movement. "Little Book of Refuges" (PDF). Trove. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Pioneer who kept her city close at heart". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b "History". www.jennysplace.org. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  9. ^ "ParlInfo - Answers to Questions: Women's Refuges". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. ^ "ParlInfo - Funding under the supported accommodation assistance program for services in NSW in 1985-1986". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  11. ^ "ParlInfo - Governments commit $2 million to services for homeless". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Family and Community Services Annual Report 2015-16" (PDF). NSW Family and Community Services. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2020.
  13. ^ Sobski, Jozefa (2014). "Women's Refuges under Going Home Staying Home" (PDF).
  14. ^ Cootes, Isobel (30 May 2017). "Foundation funds worthy projects". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  15. ^ "New outdoor area provides respite for domestic violence survivors". The University of Newcastle, Australia. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Testimonials". out(fit). Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  17. ^ a b Watts, Ellie-Marie (10 July 2019). "Jenny's Place seek support to keep service running". The Star. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Helping Jenny's Place help Newcastle women". www.pwcs.com.au. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  19. ^ Gregory, Helen (24 July 2019). "Call for government to save Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Resource Centre". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  20. ^ Gregory, Helen (29 November 2019). "Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Resource Centre renews calls for assistance". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  21. ^ Willetts, Rebecca (22 October 2019). "Parliamentary Statement: Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre Funding". Sharon Claydon MP. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  22. ^ Gregory, Helen (20 August 2019). "Minister rules out funding for Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Resource Centre". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  23. ^ "1284 - Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Centre Funding". Parliament of New South Wales. 2019.
  24. ^ "Equal Futures Project supports HMRI and Jenny's Place". Hunter Headline. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Meet our 2020 Good Cause Grants recipients". www.nib.com.au. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Newcastle Eastern Suburbs Women and Family Homelessness Support Service". Family & Community Services. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  27. ^ Gregory, Helen (4 July 2019). "Jenny's Place Domestic Violence Resource Centre faces closure". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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