The money will be provided to the Women’s Shelter Armidale over the next two years for shelters and services in Armidale, Inverell, Glen Innes, Guyra, Uralla, Tenterfield and Walcha.

 “It’s enhancement funding to the current funding we have within our specialist homing services for the Women’s and Children’s Refuge in Inverell that Pathfinders manages and the Armidale Women’s Refuge in Armidale Refuge they managing,” Pathfinders Inverell and Glen Innes Women’s Shelter manager Trish Thomas said.

“It provides extra funding for the after hours services.

“After 5pm we all go on call so it’s for that service, it allows us to have extra staffing areas, but also to purchase accommodation.

“The after hours service is a domestic violence specific funding, when women and children are in those circumstances we can purchase accommodation if our refuges are full, which is most of the time.”

Armidale Women’s Homelessness Support Services financial worker Wendy McLennan said: “It will also help us be able to skill up all our workers.”  Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said the funding was a step in the right direction to address domestic violence.

“I think the government can do a lot more, and I’ll be continuing to lobby the government to do a lot more in this space,” he said.

“But it has to be a joint effort between community and government. 

 “These types of services are absolutely vital to help women and children escape those situations.”