Northside Women's Supported Accommodation Program
Northside Community Service provides short to medium term
accommodation and support for women, with or without children, escaping
domestic violence. Families entering the program are provided with safe,
comfortable accommodation and on-site support
Staff of the program
combine case management with a number of activities during the year
designed to foster support and a sense of community. Services provided
include accommodation, information,
support, referral, advocacy, home visits, office visits, telephone
contacts, transport, financial assistance, provision for food, access to
childcare and lodgement of personal mail.
Over the last year, 54 women and 83 accompanying
children were accommodated and supported. These included Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse (CALD) specific women from Afghanistan, Holland,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, China,
Papua and New Guinea.
As NWSAP continues to accommodate and support women from both Indigenous
and CALD backgrounds, Case Managers are presented with challenges around working
appropriately across cultures, using translators and negotiating with
government departments on behalf of women without permanent visas.
All staff have become proficient in the use of
interpreters from the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) and have
built a strong and professional rapport with staff from Department of
Immigration and Indigenous Affairs on issues around permanent visas. The
diversity of the cultures has created a depth of knowledge in the program.
Additionally, NWSAP staff utilise the expertise of the Cultural Case
Manager at Northside Community Service to access information and culturally
appropriate resources.
The manager of NWSAP is a member of the Raising
the Standards team, adapting the standards to continually improve work
practice and service delivery. All monthly, quarterly and annual reports
refer to progress against unit strategic action plans which, in turn refer
to Raising the Standards and contractual obligations.
On exiting NWSAP women are offered up to three outreach
visits from program staff to assist with re-establishing themselves in the
community. 16 of the 22 families who exited the program availed themselves
of outreach support. Other forms of transitional support are provided to
women referred to NWSAP including assistance by NWSAP case workers to find
alternative accommodation.
A summary of exit forms in this year indicated that the NWSAP
program was instrumental in changing the lives of the participants in the
program. Key achievements to ensure a realistic exit program have included
the facilitation of training and education which develop self-esteem and
greater opportunities for employment.
Foodbank
The Foodbank is an aspect of the NWSAP which provides grocery items including
fruit, vegetables, other foodstuffs and cleaning and personal hygiene
items. The women are welcome to come by the office and stock up on items
they may need. Our clients have repeatedly said how grateful they are that
we provide this service because at times this may mean the difference
between eating or not.
Phone: 6257 2255 
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