VISIBILITY BRINGS SUPPORT & CONNECTION
Taranaki Women’s Refuge works with women and their children who have had, or are experiencing, family violence.
“Women’s Refuge has been in New Zealand since the 1970s, with each refuge responding to the needs of its own community,” said Shona Smith, Relationships Manager.
The Taranaki community office had been looking to move for a few years.
“We were reasonably tight and often had to shuffle meetings around to fit. The building was central, but it was difficult to find parking and being upstairs sometimes made access difficult for people whose mobility is affected and those bringing clothing or food donations,” said Shona.
Now, the community office is in a far more convenient location at 19 Eliot St, New Plymouth, and a grant from the Toi Foundation has helped them with some much-needed modernisation.
“We made use of what we already had, but thanks to our Toi Foundation grant, we have new office furniture and a comfy couch and a coffee table in our reception area. We’ve upgraded our IT and phone systems, bought a coffee machine,” said Shona.
“We have a new bright pink sign, too. We had always felt we really wanted a building that was front facing, so that we could come out of the shadows, have our sign up and say here we are, loud and proud,” said Janice Jessiman, Manager.
“Our social workers have had numerous clients reach out for support stating that it was because they had walked or driven past and seen our signage.
“Everyone’s very happy and comfortable in our beautiful new space. It’s spacious enough for us to have our own areas, not too noisy and is great for communication. We’ve seen relationships growing between different teams which has improved everyone’s wellbeing,” said Janice.
“We’re a lot easier for the public to come and see us now, with convenient parking behind the building and not having to go up two flights of stairs. Mums come in with their little ones and there’s space for the kids to play while Mum talks to a social worker.
“Having that visible presence seems to have removed a barrier, and the new furniture feels respectful of our clients and staff,” said Shona.
