Liberty Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Services in Port Macquarie has received $88,000 to tackle domestic violence in outlying local areas.
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This one-off grant from NSW Department of Communities and Justice to support the delivery of the Liberty Links Mobile Outreach Service will provide specialist domestic violence services in regional, rural and remote communities across the Port Macquarie-Hastings area, Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams said.
"Liberty Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Services do an amazing job in our community supporting women and families during extremely challenging times," Mrs Williams said.
Liberty will be exploring the needs of communities such as Kendall, Laurieton, Telegraph Point, Rollands Plains, Pappinbarra, Comboyne and Wauchope.
"These funds, as per the COVID-19 Domestic and Family Violence Program Guidelines are to support sexual, domestic and family violence services to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19 through the introduction of a service demand program," Mrs Williams said.
CEO of Liberty, Kelly Lamb said the funds will enable Liberty to engage domestic and family violence specialists to develop and deliver a tailored mobile outreach program that aims to improve the safety of women and children in outlying townships.
"We know that residents of regional and rural areas face additional barriers to accessing support including increased isolation, lack of transportation, limited telecommunications, and reduced community services," Mrs Lamb said.
"Our communities have experienced the compounding effects of drought, bushfires, COVID-19 and floods, and at Liberty we have seen a significant increase in referrals and calls for support from women experiencing domestic violence.
"Liberty is now speaking with a number of service providers and making connections in the communities to determine the unique needs of each area, ahead of launching the mobile outreach service in the coming months."