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THEY flee, with their young children, in the middle of the night.
Often, in fear for their lives, they are desperate, and they are empty-handed.
If they are lucky, they make their way to a safe place – if there are no friends or family, they may land at a women’s refuge, like Newcastle’s Jenny’s Place.
And from there, thanks to the generosity of the community, they will not go away empty-handed.
They will be armed with care packages, known as Jenny’s Gift, filled with practical self-care, kitchen, bedroom and other essential items to help them slowly re-build their lives.
‘‘Most of them come with nothing, literally,’’ says Jenny’s Place team leader Rosemary Pillay.
‘‘Just the clothes on their backs. Our funding is limited, so we have a safe place, and we are one of the only refuges that provide food, but these packs contain the basic things that we can’t provide.’’
‘‘Sometimes they contain toiletries, nappies, and sunblock. We also do kitchen packs with a few food items, and maybe a toaster, and bedroom packs with basics like linen.’’
Hundreds of women have received a Jenny’s Gift pack since it was launched six months ago, Ms Pillay said.
Jenny’s Place has been running for 37 years. The associated outreach service has been running for six years.
It helps women transition from emergency and crisis accommodation into full-time living arrangements, as well as helping some women stay safe in their own homes, and visiting families at risk.
‘‘I feel privileged to see these women go from being low and fearful in unfamiliar surroundings to taking charge of their own home, in control of their own environment, with their children with them, it’s just awesome,’’ says outreach service co-ordinator, Pam Morris.
The service is working on developing relationships with real estate agents to help give their clients a better chance of finding a private rental.
That is particularly difficult for those who have been blacklisted due to an abusive partner’s behaviours or failure to pay for rent or damaged property, and for those who have no rental references to due their former reliance on an abusive partner. In the meantime, the service continues to struggle for adequate funding.
The outreach service is run on donations alone, and the turn-away rate from the refuge remains high.
In 2013/14, 336 women were turned away, and 367 children – a 30 per cent increase on the previous financial year.
Donations can be made via the Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre on 49278529, or online at Give Now (http://www.givenow.com.au/jennysplace).
