Maitland’s anti-domestic violence service is still searching for a suitable home months after it announced it had outgrown its current residence.
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Carrie’s Place announced late last year that it was looking to establish a drop-in and multi-purpose centre in central Maitland.
The service is currently crammed into the same converted residential home on High Street it has occupied for decades.
CEO Jan McDonald told Fairfax Media after months of fruitless searches for a property that met the size and safety requirements, the move had become a matter of urgency.
“Sadly due to the demand for services, our organisation continues to grow,” Ms McDonald said. “The current premise, known as our Resource Centre, is seriously overcrowded.”
The existing building has room for about seven staff, but Carrie’s Place needs room for up to 30.
The team of eight permanent workers are often joined by another four to six workers from related services.
In addition, at least 20 clients come and go from the Resource Centre every day. Some days that number swells to 40.
“Some days workers, clients, volunteers, and pro-bono professionals – legal, counselling, financial – are literally running into each other in the hall ways,” Ms McDonald said.
“Clients have appointments with case managers outside in the back yard, in the kitchen, or on the front veranda.”
A driving motivation behind the expansion is the roll-out of the Safer Pathways Program in the region.
As part of the new strategy non-government services (like Carrie’s Place) will closely collaborate with an array of government departments from police and justice to housing, family and community and health to tackle domestic violence.
“We found the perfect property but the vendor changed their mind,” she said.
“We’ve found some other suitable properties - not for sale only for rent but they are too costly.
“Recent suitable properties are asking $120,000 in rent per year.
“If we were to enter into such an arrangement, the organisation would be bankrupt within two to three years.”
Ms McDonald said the services receives government funding, but a rental budget is not included.
“In the past many organisations have got by on the good will of other like organisations who had space,” she said.
“However, in these days of ludicrously tight resource allocation, everyone has to charge top dollar for spare space, just to survive.”
