Kipling’s Garage Bar at Turramurra was a hive of activity on 24 May 2021 as the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter hosted its Domestic Violence Awareness Breakfast. The breakfast, with 75 guests in attendance, was the first major event hosted by the shelter since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One in four Australian women have experienced some form of family or domestic violence, meaning that we all know someone that has been affected even if we are not aware. The Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter provides protection for women in crisis situations along with support services that empower them with confidence to live out their hopes for a better future.

The breakfast focused on spreading the message of hope and inspiring others in the face of adversities. 

“We wanted this morning’s breakfast to be all about hope and inspiration because that is what we need as a community,” says Louise McCann, President of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter. 

“I have never in my life seen such conversations going on at the moment in the public environment, some of which are being brought on by quite tragic circumstances. The conversation is happening but I want to see action.”

During the morning, attendees heard from keynote speakers Maggie Hamilton, social researcher and author, Mary-Anne O’Connor, best selling author of Sisters of Freedom, and Annabelle Daniel, Chair of Domestic Violence NSW and CEO of Women’s Community Shelters. Each speaker offered different, unique perspectives to inspire confidence and hope. 

Ms O’Connor, in particular, spoke about the idea of compassion and how we as humans should exercise this in our everyday lives. 

“The best thing about being a human being is that you can feel and reach out to be there for somebody,” says Ms O’Connor. 

“Compassion in action is what the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women Shelter does and I am very proud to be associated with that.”

 The shelter has also recently purchased a permanent shelter to provide refuge for women escaping abuse and homelessness in our local community. However, the property requires urgent repairs and compliance works. 

Consequently, the ‘Safe and Sound’ campaign has been started by the shelter to raise $100,000 in six weeks to conduct these repairs and to provide a safe place of residence. These renovations will also allow the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter to be able to support women with children for the first time. 

If you would like to donate, please head to chuffed.org/project/hkws-safe-and-sound by 7 July 2021.