Talks held to iron out details of new remote Goldfields safe house

Talks have been held to iron out the details of how a new safe house in a remote Goldfields town can best support domestic violence victim-survivors. More than two dozen stakeholders came together in Leonora this week to discuss which services and renovations will be most important for the community’s new safe house. The State Government dedicated $1.7 million to setting up the emergency accommodation as part of its announcement in April to offer support for victim-survivors of DV in WA. The allocation will go towards renovating an existing Government-owned house and funding a service provider. Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent, who was among those who attended the meeting, said the discussions were productive. “How the town of Leonora hasn’t had, some kind of refuge and safe place to go is just disappointing so this will be a great thing for people, this will be a great thing for the community,” she said. “We think of safe houses traditionally as where people escaping family and domestic violence go to but it could also be elder abuse as well — there’s all sorts of reasons why people want to go to a safe house. “The people that will be creating and implementing in this know this space — they know it far better than I do, and they know what is needed.” Ms Kent said Thursday’s meeting included a discussion on what services would be included in the Government tender for the house’s service provider. The attendees also discussed the adaptions needed for the facility to best suit a safe house including what kind of fencing and security would be required. Ms Kent said accommodation was on track to be up and running early next year. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)