Did you know that over 3,000 people are living on the streets of the Gold Coast and Brisbane? Many are women and children who are victims of domestic violence. They have no place to go, nowhere safe to sleep and no support to help them to rebuild their lives. Every 3 minutes someone in Australia calls police about Domestic Violence.

Domestic violence has no class barriers. Women suffering from Domestic Violence range from Tertiary educated to early school leavers. The emotional traumas are the same for all victims of Domestic Violence.

At the Sanctuary, we care for and empower women and children escaping domestic violence in the following ways:

• Providing women and children with a safe, peaceful, tranquil, caring and supportive environment, which enables them to regain their self-confidence, rebuild their sense of dignity and make a fresh start.
• Assisting women and their children to re-establish their emotional stability, through providing a holistic approach to counselling, health and personal development.
• Assisting women find alternative long-term accommodation, to return to work, to study and access Government support.
• Providing a safe home for family pets who are an integral part of the healing process for women and children.
• We have supported over 51 women with rebuilding their lives in the last 12 months alone. In total we provide accommodation for 6 singles and 2 families (a total of 8women their children and pets). We are currently building more units expected to be complete in a year or sooner. We will be able to assist 13 families in total once they are complete.

The process varies depending on the individual needs of each Woman and Child. Our services include:

• Intensive domestic violence and other counselling on site to ameliorate their emotional trauma (including one on one and group counselling).
• Providing women and children with immediate access to food, clothing and essentials.
• Assisting women with completing their housing applications and supporting paperwork.
• Assisting women with exploring study options, as well as providing access to transport to their current place of employment.
• Providing women with access to legal advice and support.
• Providing access to a full range of medical services (including a visiting Doctor, Psychologist, Pre-natal Counselling, Massage Therapist and Yoga).
• Enabling women to learn about nutrition, healthy diet and lifestyle.
• Providing support for women undergoing drug and alcohol rehabilitation and detoxification programs.
• Encouraging women to “Pay it forward” through becoming involved in community activities which support others in need (including weekly homeless feed).
• Providing links to Government agencies, police, local council and politicians.

The Sanctuary empowers women and children to regain control over their own destiny, to set new goals, build trust in others, and to make positive and lasting change in their lives.