Spike in Needs for Long-Term Residents of Domestic Violence Crisis Accommodation

SPIKE IN NEEDS FOR LONG-TERM RESIDENTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRISIS ACCOMMODATION

• Not-for-profit donation platform GIVIT has seen a spike in organisations requesting support for people living long-term in DV shelters
• Many people escaping DV are spending longer in transitional accommodation while they wait for housing
• Many children now reside in refuges with a parent and don’t have access to the tools they need to thrive
• GIVIT has launched a Domestic and Family Violence Appeal to address these needs

Not-for-profit donation platform GIVIT has seen a spike of more than 40% in support organisations requesting donations of essential items for people residing in domestic violence accommodation across Queensland in the past 18 months. With many people spending longer in transitional housing, more crisis accommodation services are requesting donations of essential items like grocery and fuel vouchers through GIVIT.

 Working with more than 400 support organisations across the state, GIVIT has launched a dedicated Domestic and Family Violence Appeal to ensure people escaping domestic violence have access to the items they need to safely begin the next chapter of their life.

 GIVIT Queensland Engagement Officer Danielle Draper said that many crisis centres and refuges registered with GIVIT are now housing women and children for more than two years.

 “We know that these centres were established as short-term transitional housing, but with people spending years in this type of accommodation GIVIT has seen a sharp rise in donation requests for basic items such as grocery and fuel vouchers,” said Danielle.

 “There are currently almost 2,000 essential items requested across Queensland  on the GIVIT website including toys for kids residing in refuges, grocery vouchers for crisis accommodation centres and white goods for women that have been moved into permanent housing.”

“I think a lot of people would be very distressed to learn that there are a lot of young children who return home from school each day to a refuge where they may not have access to many of the things they need to thrive at school, such as digital devices, school books or even a school bag and lunchbox.”

 Mena Waller, Queensland Director for 54 reasons, which provides domestic and family violence services, said that their refuges are designed to provide three-to-six-months of accommodation.

 “Unfortunately we are seeing many women and children who have escaped violence spending much longer in our accommodation while they wait for housing,” Ms Waller said.

“Some children are essentially growing up in refuges, which is not what anyone wants to see.” 

 “Our teams are able to request basic essentials like grocery and clothing vouchers for these families through the GIVIT platform, which allows them to worry less about financial hardship and instead gives them more time to focus on healing as a family unit. When we work with women and their families on their transition to long-term housing, we can request donations of larger items like white goods and furniture to help them get set up.”  

 Danielle Draper said the GIVIT website matches donation requests with donors across Australia to provide essential items such toiletries, digital devices, groceries, school supplies, furniture and more.

 “Support organisations helping people who have escaped domestic and family violence are often stretched in terms of resources and can struggle to source essential items,” said Danielle. “GIVIT can provide donations to help meet this demand to ensure people get exactly what they need, when they need it.”

 To assist people experiencing family and domestic violence in your local community visit www.givit.org.au/domestic-and-family-violence and filter by location.

 If you have an item to donate that is not listed, please register the item on www.givit.org.au/donate-items.

 If you are a local charity or frontline service in need of donated goods and services, please register at givit.org.au/charity-registration.

For more information please contact:
E: kate.fisher@givit.org.au M: 0444 503 759

About GIVIT

GIVIT is the smart way to give. Through GIVIT.org.au, we channel generosity where it is needed to support
vulnerable people and communities in Australia.

Working with more than 4,500 support organisations, we ensure people get what they need when they need it most – whether recovering from an emergency event, or experiencing hardship due to circumstances such as drought, domestic and family violence, homelessness, disability, and mental health.

GIVIT captures all offers of goods and services online, removing the need for charities and services to sort, store and dispose of unrequested donations, saving valuable resources. 100% of donated money received by GIVIT to support people in need are used to purchase essential items and services. We buy locally, wherever possible, to support local businesses and the economic recovery of affected communities. GIVIT’s operational costs are covered by government contracts and corporate partners.