‘Hannah’s Sanctuary’ to Provide Housing and Hope to DV Survivors

One of the biggest challenges for women fleeing domestic violence with their children is the lack of affordable and safe housing.

After Carolyn’s daughter experience domestic violence, she set up a charity with her husband which is now providing relief and hope for women in similar situations.

Beyond DV aims to empower and support women and children as they rebuild their lives after domestic and family violence while also raising awareness and working collaboratively with other organisations to bring hope to survivors.

96five’s Ken and Nicky caught up with Carolyn Robinson who founded Beyond DV in 2017 about their project, Hannah’s Sanctuary.

“One issue that always stood out for us was the fact that housing is so critical for women when they’re wanting to rebuild after domestic and family violence” Carolyn said.

“Out of the blue, two years ago in May, I was contacted by a member of the public. He asked me about our charity and also about my daughter’s story and asked me what our women find most challenging.

“Our whole organisation is built on hope” – Carolyn from Beyond DV

“He said ‘I’ve just acquired a block of land and I want to build housing for your families’.

“I couldn’t believe it because this had been a dream not just of ours but also for Small Steps 4 Hannah.

Carolyn asked the generous donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, if they could involve Small Steps 4 Hannah and even name the complex ‘Hannah’s Sanctuary’ in honour of Hannah.

Small Steps 4 Hannah was established by the Clarke family after Hannah Clarke and her three children, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, lost their lives as a result of domestic violence on 19 February 2020.

“It will be a place where women and their children can go to have 12-18 months just to reset and rebuild” Carolyn said.

“It’s transitional housing but there will also be a social worker who will work with those 9 families on their recovery journey, linking the families into all of our recovery programs and services”.

Together with Small Steps 4 Hannah, these families will receive counselling, connection and community with other survivors, financial and job readiness training as well as access to legal support.

“Our whole organisation is built on hope. That’s the word that we use to describe what we want to bring into the lives of the families that we work with.”

To learn more about the work of Beyond DV, visit their website.

Listen to the full interview in the player above.

Feature Image: Breaking ground at Hannah’s Sanctuary – Craig & Carolyn Robinson from Beyond DV & Sue and Lloyd Clarke from Small Steps 4 Hannah / Supplied