On Friday 18 June, Anglicare’s manager at Gordon Community Centre in South Canberra, Laura Dawson, gratefully accepted a $10,000 donation from representatives of the Lyone Foundation to assist women experiencing domestic violence.
Ms Dawson says that the need in the local area continues to increase, with the growth in need being especially noticeable since the reduction in the Jobseeker government support.
“The families who approach us for help are doing it really tough at a time when other government supports are being withdrawn. Women are the ones most at risk of experiencing domestic violence, and are often forced to leave homes with very little,” says Ms Dawson. “The funding from the Lyone Foundation will allow us to provide household packs of essential kitchen and bathroom items to help women to set up new homes for themselves and their children. Our centre is entirely funded through the generosity of donors, so we’re incredibly grateful to Lyone Foundation that they have chosen to support this urgent work.”
Lyone Foundation representative, David Wilson, says they are pleased to fund the Gordon Community Centre. “Our desire as a foundation is to assist vulnerable people in local communities. This is why we’re so keen to partner with Anglicare to support the emergency relief program at Gordon Community Centre because we know help is going directly to the families who need it, and is being delivered by staff and volunteers who care deeply for people in their area.”
The centre, which opened in 2017 as a partnership between Anglicare and Lanyon Valley Anglican Church, is located at 110 Lewis Luxton Avenue in Gordon and provides a range of community services including a playgroup, skills and education sessions and a food pantry. In the period between January 2020 and April 2021 Anglicare staff members and volunteers from the centre provided over 950 food packs and other emergency assistance to people in need. Over 70 per cent of those accessing this service were women.
According to the ACT Council of Social Service, the number of vulnerable people in Canberra has increased since the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions with an estimated 7.5 per cent of households living below the poverty line.
For more information about Anglicare’s emergency relief services, CLICK HERE.
