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- Ending Homelessness for Women and Children
Ending Homelessness for Women and Children
Nova for Women and Children
Information, advice, referral and advocacy support to sustain their current tenancy. Identify affordable private rental, social housing or other suitable housing for those who are homeless. If required offer interim accommodation for up to 28 days or 3 months. Offer transitional properties for up to 12 months. Offer case management.
All Nova workers are trained in Trauma Informed Care Practices. Nova offers a Client Advisory Group where clients and former clients meet with management to give feedback. Clients are offered feedback forms to complete anonymously at the end of their service period. Nova partners with a number of other SHS Providers for one of our interim accommodation sites and works with several agencies to ensure best care for clients. Nova is leading the sector in the Hunter in terms of renting properties from the private sector and partnering with FACS for Supported TA. Nova is investigating various
Last financial year 2016 - 2017 Nova assisted 1,216 clients with 820 of these being in the Newcastle West area. Of this 820, 12 clients were provided with risis accommodation paid for via Nova brokerage funds, 106 clients received medium term accommodation and all the others received either a rapid response, crisis accommodation or case managed outreach. Nova also provides an After Hours Domestic Violence Response in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens which in 2017 assisted over 50 women to escape violence as it was occurring or just before or after an incident.
Nova has learned that just as it takes a village to raise a chile, collaboration within the sector is vital to provide the best service to women and children. Nova has also learned above all, women and children matter. This seems obvious but given the statistics around domestic violence and homelessness, this does not play out in terms of government funding to services in these areas.