Women's Accommodation in Victoria

KEY AGENCIES:

• The SAFE STEPS FAMILY VIOLENCE RESPONSE CENTRE (formerly Women's Domestic Violence Crisis Service of Victoria) is able to provide referral to emergency accommodation services, including refuges, on a 24 hour basis.
• WOMEN'S HOUSING LTD (formerly the Statewide Women's Community Housing Service) can provide assistance to access emergency housing including some refuges. This service is available during normal business hours.
• The UNITING WESLEY HOMELESSNESS AND SUPPORT SERVICE has an after hours service available to people from the Eastern Region.

GENERAL REFERRAL ISSUES:

Read the records for individual agencies carefully as some agencies only offer short (greater than 6 weeks) to long-term accommodation and cannot assist with emergency overnight requests. These agencies often have intake procedures which involve appointments interviews and assessments. As a rough guide, agencies listed under this heading as offering an after hours service will normally offer emergency accommodation, or assist with referrals to emergency accommodation. It is fairly common for emergency housing services to have an answering machine system. The caller may have to leave a message and a phone number so that the housing worker can return the call. Some agencies have a Duty Worker available to take calls only between specific hours, making it necessary to call back at those times.

SHARE ACCOMMODATION NOTICEBOARDS:

There are many free noticeboards used to advertise share accommodation located in community organisations, cafes, bookshops, Community Information Centres etc. Some TRANSITIONAL HOUSING managers also keep registers of share housing.

PEOPLE WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES:

MENTAL HEALTH CENTRES can assist with information and referral for their clients. Other providers of support to people with a psychiatric disability, include MIND AUSTRALIA (formerly the Richmond Fellowship of Victoria), which is a major metropolitan provider of accommodation assistance for people with psychiatric disabilities.

PEOPLE WITH DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS:

People with drug and alcohol addiction problems who are having difficulty finding accommodation may need to undergo some form of treatment, such as detoxification, before a referral is given to a halfway house.