About the Resource Centre
We also operate Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre (NDVRC).
NDVRC is the only facility in Newcastle offering long-term case management and counselling support for women experiencing domestic violence. We empower women to regain control of their lives and take the difficult steps necessary to escape abuse and violence. The Centre’s services support a strong and growing need in the community.
The Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre (NDVRC) is located in the Joy Cummings Centre in Newcastle. It is the only facility in Newcastle and the broader Hunter region offering long-term case management and counselling support for women experiencing domestic violence. The Centre’s services support a strong and growing need in the community. They do not set geographic boundaries and take referrals and clients from across the region.
We are proud of the success of our early intervention strategies, delivered through the NDVRC. While domestic and family violence (DFV) is the leading cause of homelessness for women and their children, not all women experiencing DFV require, or are ready for, crisis accommodation. We identified an unmet need for early intervention and long-term support services for women experiencing violence.
The NDVRC provides support service to women and families at all stages of the domestic violence cycle. This includes early intervention support for women who are in abusive relationships and need help to make plans to leave safely, as well as women in crisis. It also includes those women whose past experience of domestic and family violence may be impacting them again, and who need post-crisis support and counselling.
Jenny’s Place counsellors at the NDVRC are often able to help women find alternative accommodation, without relying on crisis and public housing services. Of the clients that received housing support via the NDVRC in 2018-19, only 16 per cent accessed crisis accommodation. We were able to successfully house the remaining 84 per cent in private accommodation.
NDVRC is also a referral pathway for many other agencies and services including Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, Centrelink, Housing NSW and other housing providers, educational institutions, health professionals and hospitals, counsellors, other homelessness services, and a range of community organisations.
The NDVRC is not funded by government and relies upon community donations and sponsorship to deliver its services. The social and economic costs of violence are significant. The funding we seek is only a fraction of the costs faced by the community if vital services such as ours are not supported.
