Annual Report
2021-22
Highlights and Achievements
Vision, Mission, Purpose and Services
Our Vision
A safe community free of violence
and homelessness.
Our Mission
Continue to be a leading service provider focused on breaking the cycles of domestic violence and homelessness in the community.
Our Services
- Women and Children’s Crisis Refuge
- Single Women’s Crisis Refuge
- Transitional Accommodation
- Outreach Support Program
- Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre (NDVRC)
Our Purpose
To provide direct relief to women and children who are escaping domestic violence and/or homelessness, through the provision of:
- Early intervention and prevention services
- Short-term crisis accommodation
- Medium-term transitional housing
- Outreach support to rough sleepers
- Outreach support to those with tenancies at risk
- Post-crisis support
- Food and financial assistance
- Brokerage
- Client centered co-case management
- Support, information, advocacy and referral
A safe community
free of violence
and homelessness.
Jenny’s Place Facts
- Celebrating our 45th year in 2022 – our first refuge for women and children escaping domestic violence opened in Newcastle in 1977
- Provides crisis and transitional accommodation, support, case management, referral, advocacy and outreach services
- Empowers clients by building their capacity, self-esteem, confidence, knowledge, personal and living skills
- Maintains referral pathways to specialist support services for housing, disabilities, health and medical, legal and court support, financial and budgeting
- Offers post-crisis support via home visits, case management and links to specialist services
Exceeding Targets in a Challenging Year
Chair’s Report
The 2021-2022 year was another extremely challenging year for women and children seeking accommodation to escape domestic and family violence in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the broader Hunter region. Reports indicate that more than 9,000 women and children face homelessness each year after leaving a violent partner. Our data for the last financial year supports this, showing that 48.5% of women accessing our service are escaping domestic and family violence (DFV).
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research recorded an increase of 9.3% in the number of reported domestic violence-related assaults across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, which has led to an increase in demand for support. Equity Economics and ACCOSS recently reported that only 40% of DFV incidents are currently being reported. This gives us a ore realistic picture of the true scale and prevalence of DFV in our community.
It is no surprise in this environment to see that, once again, Jenny’s Place exceeded the target numbers for the year, set by our funding body, NSW Department of Communities and Justice, by a staggering 70%. Despite this incredible effort, we were, sadly, unable to assist another 950 clients.
Data for the last financial year once again shows that DFV is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children. Equity Economics has reported that the lack of long- term social housing is leading to 7,690 Australian women a year returning to violent partners and 9,120 women a year becoming homeless.
Alarmingly, the number of women aged between 65 and 74 presenting as homeless increased by 50% and the number of women over the age of 55 is growing rapidly as well.
We welcome the NSW Government’s announcement that 7 new Core and Cluster models of refuge accommodation will be developed across the Hunter over the next few years. We hope that this helps to reduce this unmet client need. However, year after year we find ourselves reporting on the number of women and children who are unable to find longterm housing and face homelessness. They are out on the street with nowhere to go or forced to return to unsafe homes with perpetrators of violence. This is unacceptable. We continue to call on both State and Federal Governments to intervene and invest now in long-term housing solutions.
Thank you to our staff for the amazing work they have undertaken during an extremely difficult period. On top of their busy workloads they dealt with the pandemic and the local housing and rental accommodation crisis, while successfully completing the ASES accreditation process and strategic planning. They have worked collaboratively and demonstrated amazing resourcefulness to find new ways of delivering services. They continue to develop new partnerships to help our clients to find affordable accommodation. I am in awe of the fantastic client outcomes they have achieved.
Congratulations to the entire team. Your achievements have been remarkable.
I would also like to thank our Committee members for their governance and ongoing support over this year. Your expertise and your commitment have been invaluable and greatly appreciated.
Kerstin Davey
Chairperson
Client-centred care for 45 years
Executive Manager’s Report
What a year it has been. As we emerge from the ashes of COVID-19, we look forward to the future with anticipation of a more normal existence than we have experienced over the last few years.
The local housing crisis leaves few exit options for many of our clients. We continue to advocate with local members of parliament to regulate the parts of the market that they can: to provide incentives to people with investment properties to rent long-term rather than holiday rentals; and to put an end to no-grounds evictions. These allow landlords to evict people to increase the rent by far more than they could have if it had remained tenanted. We continue to find alternative housing options for women and to advocate for more social and affordable housing for women and children.
This year Jenny’s Place celebrates our 45th year of service to the Newcastle community. I doubt our founding members would have dreamed that demand for our services would be higher today than ever before. While the celebrations are bitter sweet we take comfort and pride in the knowledge that we have supported thousands of women and children escaping domestic and family violence to safely move toward an independent and violence-free lifestyle. We helped to save many lives in the process and are extremely happy about that.
The future promises to be very exciting for Jenny’s Place. We are partnering with Housing Plus to submit a tender to build more crisis accommodation in our area under the NSW Government’s Core and Cluster funding model. We look forward to working with Housing Plus on that proposal in the coming months and toward other housing options that this partnership will bring in the future.
Another highlight during the year was achieving Australian Service Excellence Standards (ASES) accreditation. We were delighted with comments in the independent assessors’ report stating that Jenny’s Place is a client-centred organisation. It stated that clients were central to every decision made and commented on our organisation’s extremely high level of professionalism.
Our Community Relations team achieved some positive outcomes achieved this year. On top of attracting corporate, philanthropic and community support, they initiated two annual fundraising events – the Raising Respect morning tea and the EmPowered Walk. Each of these events, as well as raising funds, will raise awareness around domestic and family violence and promote our services. They will help inform women where to come for support and what services are available to them.
Our Outreach and Resource Centre staff are moving out of the Joy Cummings Centre (JCC) to new premises in Hunter Street. We secured the new premises with the pro bono support of buyers’ agent Nick Lane. It offers a temporary solution that will cater to the needs of our Outreach and Resource Centre clients and staff while we work toward securing a more permanent building.
I thank all of our staff and our Management Committee for your outstanding efforts towards what has been a very successful 2021-22 financial year. It was a team effort!
Marcia Chapman
Executive Manager
Our People
Jenny’s Place Inc. is an incorporated association made up of elected committee members.
The following members were re-elected to the Committee at the AGM in 2021.
President/Chair
(up to December 2021)
Nicole Bailey
President/Chair
(from to December 2021)
Kerstin Davey
Vice President
Elvira Johnson
Treasurer/Secretary
Anna Harrower
Public Officer
Briony Manning
Member
Patricia Clarke
Member
Trudie Larnach
Nicole Bailey
Kerstin Davey
Elvira Johnson
Anna Harrower
Briony Manning
Patricia Clarke
Trudie Larnach
A huge thank you to our outgoing Chair, Nicole Bailey, who joined our Management Committee in 2013 and served as Chair for nine years. Nicole resigned from the Committee in 2021 and was recruited to Jenny’s Place team, taking up a role as Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre Coordinator.
consultations with
women at the NDVRC
Operations Manager’s report
2021-2022 was another challenging year for our community. Demand for our services continued to outweigh supply. While we were able to assist 1,067 clients over the year, we were unable to assist a further 950, who were referred to us.
As in previous years, the number of clients we were able to assist was well over the target set under our funding model. Our refuges supported 122 women and 78 children over the year. Our outreach program assisted 286 women and 285 children and our Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre provided support to 167 women and 182 children
Clients stayed an average of 51 days in our families shelter over the year, a phenomenal turnover given the limited exit options for clients caused by the local housing crisis. Many women have had to stay in refuge and transitional accommodation for longer.
A report released in May indicated that the median house rental price in Newcastle increased by 14.2% over the year to reach $628 per week. Affordable accommodation options for the majority of our clients are minimal. Competition for rental property is incredibly high, with some clients reporting hundreds of people applying for one property.
COVID had a huge impact on service provision, particularly within the refuges. Repetitive lockdowns and isolation periods impacted the number of clients we were able to assist and accommodate.
The ever-increasing cost of living and housing prices has also caused people who have never faced homelessness before to seek our support services.
Since achieving ASES accreditation we continue to strive to achieve high levels of client-centred casework and to implement best practice across all programs. We also celebrate our community partnerships, both new and ongoing. It is wonderful to see services collaborate to ensure the best possible outcomes for clients.
Staffing changes in 2021-22 saw us welcome new workers. We also farewelled Robyn James from the Resource Centre and Judy Parker from the outreach team. Thank you for your dedicated service to the clients of Jenny’s Place over the years. We wish you both well into the future.
All our staff worked incredibly hard to assist clients and to advocate for them to find housing. Their achievements are amazing. Your dedication and commitment are second to none. You have shown persistence and resilience throughout this time. Well done to our wonderful team of dedicated workers who should be incredibly proud of their efforts!
Stacey Gately
Our Year in Review
Organisational Development
Last financial year heralded significant organisational development for Jenny’s Place. Jenny’s Place achieved ASES accreditation in 2022. We underwent an external audit of our policies, processes and procedures by external auditors. Their report congratulated management and staff for Jenny’s Place high standard of service across programs. They identified areas where we needed improvement, including our cultural awareness and disability access. We are addressing these issues.
The appointment of Operations Manager, Stacey Gateley, at the start of the financial year, resulted in the streamlining of our services. She has overseen a year of growth and change.
Children’s Support Program
Philanthropic funding enabled us to reinstate Children’s Support services in 2022. The Sunshine Hut opened in the refuge’s childcare building in January 2022, offering psycho-social support to mothers and children in care. The program is delivered by a supervising psychologist and up to four postgraduate psychology students, in a partnership with the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Newcastle.
It is a pleasure to be once again supporting vulnerable children in our service. The partnership will yield an
evidence-based program for child support that can be delivered into the future. It is the subject of a doctoral study by psychologist, Saskia Behan. Efforts to find ongoing funding for the program yielded positive results at the end of financial year, attracting grant funding for a two-year pilot program. Jenny’s Place was also funded for child support programs in a NSW Government limited term grantx to some refuges. It is hoped this funding will be continued beyond the initial 12- month period.
Sustainability Program
The Community Relations team (pictured above) have had a successful year. The team expanded to four, which increased our capacity to connect more effectively with the community. The team built our support base and attracted significant funds to assist our clients. They have worked in partnership to expand our online presence and raise awareness of our services. Their efforts have put our organisation on a firmer footing and greatly benefitted our clients.
New Premises
The outreach and resource centre teams are scheduled to move from the Joy Cummings Centre to new premises in Hunter Street in 2022. Pro bono support from professional services firm KPMG resulted in an introduction to buyers’ agent, Nick Lane, who provided pro bono support to find new premises. The Community Relations team attracted philanthropic support to enable our move to Hunter Street offices.
Client Statistics 2021-22
Accommodated at Families Refuge
Women
Unable to be accommodated
Children
Unable to be accommodated
Accommodated at Singles Refuge
Women
Unable to be accommodated
Main language other than English at home
Number of clients by Indigenous Status
Age of Client
(from beginning of support period) %
Program Highlights
Crisis Accommodation
This year brought further challenges and uncertainty for most of our refuge clients as we learned to live with COVID 19. The cost of rental property skyrocketed with significant financial and social impacts on our clients.
Our staff strengthened relationships with other service providers in 2021-22 to offer all the support they can to vulnerable women and children. We have focused on continual improvement to our services and accountability to our clients and the community this year.
An external audit highlighted our strengths in delivering a great service to our clients but recommended some areas where we could improve.
We will undertake cultural awareness training for staff and improve our accessibility to clients with a disability to address these shortfalls.
A total of 51 clients participated in the work and development order (WDO) program in the last financial year. Many of them cleared state debts and fines that they had accumulated over the years.
This is a great initiative to support women who are experiencing financial hardship.
All our staff are committed to achieving and sustaining positive outcomes for our clients. I thank them for the experience, expertise and the strong positive values they bring to the service.
Total numbers accommodated (2021-22):
- Families refuge = 22 women and 35 children
- Singles refuge = 39 women
In 2020-21, we were unable to accommodate:
- Families refuge = 223 women and 454 children
- Singles refuge = 395 women
Domestic Violence Resource Centre
The Domestic Violence Resource Centre (DVRC) operated five days per week throughout 2021-22.
Our two caseworkers primarily offered safety and exit planning for women experiencing family and domestic violence, short-term crisis counselling and connection to appropriate ongoing support. We worked with our clients to identify and prioritise their needs. We provide emotional support and information that empowers them to make decisions about their future. As in previous years, a small percentage of clients with more complex needs received support over longer periods.
In 2021-22, we supported 167 women and 182 children. On average, 39 women were assisted each month. The majority of the women were from Newcastle, followed by Lake Macquarie, with a smaller number from Port Stephens, Upper Hunter, Central Coast and other areas. Our caseworkers submitted 152 successful Victim Services’ applications for specialist counselling and 64 women were supported to secure long-term housing.
Our caseworkers have strengthened relationships with key stakeholders in 2021-22. These include local GP’s, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, local hospital personnel, the University of Newcastle and TAFE. These relationships have resulted in a steady stream of referrals for women and children requiring support due to domestic violence. They are key to providing early intervention strategies and holistic wrap-around support for those in need.
We have worked collaboratively with other services, partnering to provide opportunities for women escaping domestic violence.
Outreach Program
The outreach program provides tenancy and advocacy support to women and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The current housing crisis in Newcastle and the Hunter has presented many barriers for women and families seeking support to secure safe, affordable, long- term housing. Despite these challenges, the outreach program achieved many positive outcomes for women and children seeking tenancy support.
In 2021-22, 286 women and 285 children accessed support to resolve their housing issues. On average, 30 women were referred to the outreach program each month. Assistance for Tenancy support – Rapid Rehousing was the main reason women accessed support. The team also provided support and advocacy for six women who were sleeping rough, couch surfing, or living in their cars.
Rapid Re-Housing – we supported 154 women to rapidly resolve their homelessness this financial year. This program helps families to resolve their homelessness quickly to successfully settle back into their community. The focus is practical support, assistance with rental applications, skill building, and advocacy with social housing providers.
Early Intervention and Prevention – we provided support to 77 women through this program in 2021-22. Case management focused on sustaining tenancies at risk, in both the private market and social housing. Outreach workers continue to support families who have exited our Transitional Housing Program and our Rapid Re-Housing Program into private rental or social housing under our early intervention and prevention program. This helps families to build their capacity to successfully maintain their accommodation and decreases the risk of homelessness.
Supported Transitional Housing Program – we provided case management support for 22 transitional housing properties. These properties offer 12-month and 5-year programs, with 26 women and children supported in 2021-22. Support includes home visiting and phone contact with clients to achieve case plan goals, and build skills to sustain their long-term housing.
Strengthening and building relationships with community stakeholders continues to be a primary focus of the outreach program. The outreach team, together with Newcastle Family Support, Staying Home Leaving Violence, and the Soul Café have worked together to support our clients. There have been positive outcomes for many of our vulnerable clients seeking outreach support.
Intake Assessment
This year the intake team has seen a ‘trend’ of people who need help finding housing approach the service for support. There has been an influx of referrals for people in double-income households who are unable to secure a rental property due to the current rental affordability crisis in the region. They are reaching out to services such as Jenny’s Place as they face the risk of homelessness.
The demand for services is ever increasing and as a result the waitlist for support is rapidly growing. Other local services have ‘closed their books’ due to being at capacity. While this has had a significant impact on the intake team, Jenny’s Place outreach program books remained open throughout the year.
Our Impact
Sue’s story
Sue and her three children came to Jenny’s Place in June 2021. The family stayed at our Families Refuge for 16 weeks.
Sue’s middle daughter, Alice, has a diagnosis of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), defiance disorder and complex anxiety. At times she became very violent towards family members as she acted out her frustrations and fears.
The family had been living in a Department of Housing property surrounded by violence, excessive noise and antisocial behaviour. They often felt afraid. The neighbourhood issues exaggerated Alice’s behaviors and resulted in her refusing to go to school, damaging the family’s property, and being violent towards the family. Her older sister was now refusing to go to school as she was worried for her mother’s safety.
Sue left the property as it became unsafe to inhabit. She came into the refuge saying she needed “someone to listen”. She wanted a quieter neighborhood that wouldn’t be so triggering for Alice.
She pleaded for support for her daughter.
Caseworkers began by speaking with NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) Child Protection service. They arranged a meeting where a case plan was developed with a support plan for the family. However, much of the proposed support required the family to be in their own home.
Through collaboration with DCJ Housing, we learned that Sue’s transfer application was suspended until the damage to her previous property was repaired and rubbish removed.
Jenny’s Place caseworker and Team Leader visited the property, with Sue’s permission, to gauge what was needed to restore the property to a standard to lift the suspension. They were shocked by what they
saw. Every window was broken and there were holes in every wall. The floors were covered in rubbish.
Sue broke down.
“Every time I try to fix it up, Alice wrecks it again,” she said. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Caseworkers developed a plan. With the help of volunteers from the Newcastle Men’s Shed and C3 Victory Church (above), and a lot of hard work from Sue and her children, her property was repaired and cleaned. The gardens were tidied and mowed and the rubbish removed.
DCJ Housing then offered Sue and her children a property in a quiet suburb in the Newcastle area. Our caseworker applied for a sanctuary through Friends with Dignity to provide furniture and essential items for her DCJ property. The sanctuary was completed within a week and Sue and her children moved in two days before Christmas. They were overwhelmed with the generosity of this program and amazed that a Christmas tree and gifts were waiting for them. They said that this was their best Christmas ever!
Our caseworker continues to provide support to Sue and her children. Sue has achieved her goals and is working on other case plans developed with support from her caseworker. Alice’s behavior had improved since moving into their new home and she had been referred to a supported behavioral school. The other children have also made progress and attend support programs at their schools.
Sue said that this is the first time in a long while that she feels that she and her children have a bright future to look forward to and that everything is going to be OK.
Lee’s Story
Lee came to the Domestic Violence Resource Centre in a very distressed state. After leaving an abusive relationship she was feeling incredibly unsafe in her current home. Despite having an AVO (Apprehended Violence Order) in place, she had received threats and acts of violence towards herself and her property.
Most recently she had had to call the police when petrol was poured all over her back porch. She had applied to DCJ Housing for an urgent transfer and was waiting to hear about the property.
We were able to provide caring support for Lee and an immediate voucher for her to buy food. With Lee’s consent, we called the DCJ Housing and voiced concerns about Lee’s safety. The following day, Lee had been able to view a new apartment in a safe location. She could sign the lease the day after. We supported Lee’s application to Centrelink for a crisis payment for removalists and she moved straight in to her new safe home.
Since being in a new safe home, Lee has begun piecing her life back together. She attended a dentist, is prioritising medical appointments and getting her finances in order. She was also able to connect with one of her adult children that she had not had contact with for many months.
Lee’s caseworker Deb loves to see how Jenny’s Place workers can empower women.
“Through support, women who have been hurt in the past can take that survival momentum and keep building on it to bring positive change in their own lives,” she said.
Our former client Jarunya, pictured front left, won a scholarship donated by Emma McCabe, to take part in the Kakadu hike for Jenny’s Place in June 2022. Jarunya was one of 10 hikers who battled heat, mosquitoes, fatigue and sore feet to complete the gruelling sixday trek through uncharted terrain in aid of women and children escaping domestic violence. Well done Jarunya for your courage in escaping violence with your children and for taking on the Kakadu challenge to help other women affected.
Names have been changed to protect client privacy.
Our Collaborators
Jenny’s Place fosters a range of close partnerships to provide holistic and quality support services to women and children in our care. The following services have been invaluable in assisting us in 2021- 22.
Friends with Dignity (FWD)
FWD have continued to provide a much-needed service to our clients by furnishing their properties when they secure long-term accommodation. With advice from our case worker on what each member of the family likes, what colours they prefer, the age and interests of children, FWD furnish every room in the house. They also provide linen, children’s toys, crockery, etc. Our clients always shed a tear when they see the effort put in to creating their ‘sanctuaries’.
Despite COVID disruptions, FWD managed to create six ‘sanctuaries’ for our clients in 2021-22. Staff and clients are very grateful and appreciate their support.
Hunter Homeless Connect
Hunter Homeless Connect’s (HHC) Pay-it-Forward program provided haircut vouchers to the Domestic Violence Resource Centre (DVRC) and the outreach program clients.
HHC’s Connecting the Hunter Coordinator Nissa Lee Phillips also introduced DVRC Coordinator Wendy Waldron to Sandy Chong, Managing Director of Suki Hairdressing in Newcastle. Suki donated 20 haircuts
and HHC provided hair colour treatments. AVEDA donated gift packs of hair products.
Wendy trained Suki staff (pictured) on how to connect women to support as soon as they identify a domestic violence risk. The first of our clients to experience the treatment summed up what it meant to her:
“This was a feel-good experience for me. I had a tear in my eyes at the beginning of the head massage.
I realised I hadn’t been touched in a pleasant way for some time, so it does bring your emotions to the surface. Thank you.”a
OZ Harvest
A welcome visitor to our crisis shelters twice a week, this wonderful service has provided quality food. They delivered different meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, treats for the children and also treats for the mums such as fresh flowers.
Harpers Legal Clinics
Thank you to the team from Harpers Legal once again offered free monthly legal clinics, with 42 clients supported in 2021-22. Resource Centre Coordinator Wendy Waldron says the clinics mean so much to the team.
“Often women come to us who are still experiencing domestic violence and they have so much fear about leaving the relationship and what that might look like for them. We find that when women attend the legal clinic they are more likely to go ahead with their exit plan as they have a clearer understanding of their rights and the process moving forward.”
Girl Friday and Zonta
These wonderful organisations have provided amazing practical assistance to our clients in 2021-22. Between them they have donated scores of fully-stocked kitchen packs and laundry packs to assist women and children setting up new homes as they rebuilt their lives after fleeing domestic violence.
Australian Dental Health Foundation
Support for our clients included free dental work such as fillings, dentures or extraction. This has definitely brought a smile to their faces!
In the Community
Jenny’s Place staff members were active in the community in 2021-22. We had a strong presence on the Newcastle Domestic Violence Committee with staff holding key positions including Chair and Treasurer throughout the year.
Our Executive Manager and staff organised, spoke at and participated in numerous awareness raising events. They include the International Women’s Day March to Civic Park, Reclaim the Night, 16 Days of Activism to prevent violence against women and children, Combined Services’ Federal Government Elections Priorities Media Launch, and the What Were You Wearing march and rally
Committee Members
Pam Mackaway
Newcastle Domestic
Violence Committee
Kim Briton
Newcastle Domestic
Violence Committee
Lisa Ronneberg
Newcastle Domestic
Violence Committee
Nicole Bailey
Newcastle Domestic
Violence Committee
Rosemary Pillay
Multicultural Advisory Group
Rosemary Pillay
Safety Action Meeting Group
Top left: Domestic Violence Resource Centre Coordinator Wendy Waldron gave a presentation on domestic violence to the LiveFree team; Top right: Kim and Donna attended a ball organised by University of Newcastle student groups in November 2021; Bottom left: Jenny’s Place staff attended an International Women’s Day lunch at C3 Victory Church in Charlestown in 2022; Bottom right from L-R: alliance six local DV specialist services held a media event to raise housing and accommodation as priority issues for the region. Collaborating with Jenny’s Place to develop local Federal election priorities were Warlga Ngurra, Nova for Women and Children, Carrie’s Place, Port Stephens Family and Neighbourhood Service, and Got Your Back Sista.
Our Supporters
The last financial year was one of growth and development in Jenny’s Place Community Relations program. Philanthropic funding enabled the team to expand from two to four. In 2021-22, the team raised significant funds and widened our support base. They contributed strongly to the organisation’s sustainability and enabled the introduction of new or expanded programs.
Thanks to our donors, Jenny’s Place has grown in organisational confidence and maturity over the past 12 months. The new skills, partnerships and perspectives made possible by the funding has allowed our organisation to greatly expand our capabilities and ability to sustain our services into the future. The grants have enabled a big step forward for Jenny’s Place and our clients.
Philanthropy
- Newcastle Domestic Violence Resource Centre(DVRC) – $100,000 To employ a caseworker to deliver early intervention and prevention service to women experiencing domestic violence.
- Sustainability resourcing – $50,000 To employ an Administrative Assistant three days per week to oversee the donations program and to fund an additional day for Community Relations Coordinator Kim Britton.
- Children’s support program – $100,000 To employ a supervising Psychologist, Saskia Behan, to oversee the Sunshine Hut program – delivering a psycho-social program of support to children in Jenny’s Place accommodation and their mothers. This funding also enabled a literature review and ethics application to enable a doctoral study to be undertaken to create an evidencebased children’s support program for Jenny’s Place.
- Regional collaboration initiative – $100,000 To employ a Regional Collaborations Coordinator, Lisa Ronneberg, for 12 months. Lisa’s role is new to Jenny’s Place and enabled us to build more effective connections within the domestic and family violence sector across the region.
Grants
Jenny’s Place applied for 11 grants from a range of sources in 2021-22. We were awarded eight of them, with a combined value of over $68,000. They are:
- Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group – $2,000 to purchase whitegoods for clients (K A Konotopsky)
- NSW Government Social Sector Transformation Fund (SSTF) – Rounds 3 – funded support for organisational development support from Sefa (Social Enterprise Finance Australia)
- Australian Government Stronger Communities Programme Round 7 – $9,822 to purchase essential ICT equipment for new staff
- NSW Government Community Building Partnerships program – $16,000 to upgrade from a Mazda 2 to a new Mazda 3 vehicle for our fleet.
Thanks to Tim Crakanthorp for your support. - City of Newcastle Community Grants Program – $9,780 for Creating a culturally safe space for ATSI women escaping violence – cultural awareness training for staff
- NSW Clubs Grants – $20,000 from Wests New Lambton and $2,000 from Souths Newcastle to support the digital foundations for Jenny’s Place growth and $10,000 from Diggers Wallsend for vouchers for goods and services to help clients set up new homes.
- Lord Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast recipient 2022 – $18,000 raised at this annual Newcastle event through donations and raffles.
- The Rainbow Foundation – $5,000 to assist with funding for the Resource Centre.
Corporate Support
Strategic Group continued their critical, long-term support of Jenny’s Place. Tremendous thanks to Chris Boswell and his amazing team who generously provided donations, pro-bono computer maintenance and cloud hosting sponsorship. Your contribution to our ability to safely provide services to our clients over 2021-22 cannot be overstated. Special thanks to Evan for your care and technical expertise.
Mezzanine have partnered closely with us in 2021-22 to develop Jenny’s Place community connections and raise awareness about our services. They continue to assist us with outstanding web support, marketing and brand advice and development, social media and communications expertise. Tremendous thanks to Nikki Wright and her dedicated team for all your support.
Bequests and Trusts
Wright Family Bequest continued their support of our programs through a grant of $25,000 in 2021-22. Their generous and ongoing contribution for general charitable purposes enables us to direct the funds to the programs that most need support.
It enables us to provide women and children with longer-term support.
Orrett Family Trust continued to support Jenny’s Place in 2021-22. We sincerely thank John Orrett and Anne Provost for their commitment to our work over the years.
Fundraising
Community and corporate events – Jenny’s Place issued Authorities to Fundraise to multiple organisations or individuals in the last financial year. Their fundraising efforts and donations others amounted to $17,000. Our thanks to all our mighty fundraisers and donors in the community for all the barbecues, balls, breakfasts, stalls, raffles and buckets! We really appreciate your contribution.
Give Now – 186 donors gave a combined amount of $14,590.53 to Jenny’s Place through Give Now in 2021-22. Thank you to all those who supported us, particularly our regular givers.
Shout for Good – this ANZ Bank platform became integrated into our website in 2021-22, replacing Give Now as our primary payment portal. 227 donors gave a combined amount of $41,116.04. Thank you to all our donors.
Good Company – 26 donors supported Jenny’s Place through payroll giving in 2021-22, raising $7,817.00.
Thank you to all our corporate donors, particularly our regular givers, and to the companies that matched their donations. They are AGL, AECOM and CSL.
Donations – goods
Huge thanks to everyone who donated clothes, toys, bedding, kitchen and laundry products, flowers and gifts over the last financial year. It makes a huge contribution to the comfort and happiness of the women and children in our care.
Events
Hikes to Help Jenny’s Place – Kakadu Trek – 1-10 June 2022 – The two treks planned to take place in 2021-22 – the Kakadu Hike, scheduled for 15 to 23 August, and the Three Capes Tasmania Trek, planned for 11-14 October – were both postponed until 2022 due to COVID travel restrictions.
In June 2022, 10 amazing people trekked for nine days over 86 kms of uncharted track in Kakadu National Park to support Jenny’s Place. They exceeded their $50,000 target to raise an incredible $65,000! Well done to the trekkers and all the companies and individuals who supported them.
The postponed Tasmanian Trek will take place in October 2022. It will follow a 21-day hike planned to cross the Simpson Desert in August 2022.
Online Mega Christmas Raffle – Drawn on 5 December 2021, the raffle, made up of toys that we had as overflow, with several bigger donations that Donna sourced, raised more than $9,000.
Raising Respect for Women in March fundraiser – intended to be an annual community fundraising campaign tied to International Women’s Day, the inaugural result exceeded our expectations. Mezzanine’s outstanding digital campaign, allied with direct emails from Donna and Kim to corporate supporters, resulted in more than 12 community fundraising events in March. We also received donations from others who were unable to hold events. We exceeded our $5,000 target, with more than $16,500 raised.
Volunteers
We could not have achieved the outcomes we did in 2021-22 without the support of our dedicated team of volunteers. The tireless Ean Sutton continues to maintain our properties and can always be relied upon for a yarn.
Special thanks to the ‘fab four’ regular ‘vollies’ who work their way through mountains of donated goods each week to create order in our donations program – Carol Compton, Sue McDonald, Wendy Kingston and Kath Carmody.
