For women in the Griffith catchment area desperately wanting to get out of an abusive home, Links for Women's refuge is the only option for hundreds of kilometres.

When you consider that Griffith has an alarming domestic violence rate almost three times higher than the state average, the 18 spaces available at the Griffith refuge is not even close to enough.

"Particularly this year during COVID where our capacity to accommodate women has been reduced, the demand far outweighs supply," Kirrilly Salvestro, Deputy CEO at Linking Communities Network said.

The refuge run by Links for Women can house women and their children for up to 3 months, which is paramount to women being able to rebuild and find independence after leaving an abusive relationship. However, the lack of housing options for when women are ready to move on from the service is a major hurdle women encounter in Griffith.

"The low rental rates in Griffith mean that moving people to their own accommodation is extremely difficult," Mrs Salvestro explained.

"Add to that the bottle neck that forms because at the end of three months with us, we can't put them anywhere therefore we can't take on more women needing help."

Links for Women receives referrals from across Griffith, the Murrumbidgee area and NSW.

"A lot of the bigger city services are full and at capacity too so they of course try to look at options elsewhere," Mrs Salvestro said.

"Plus we are the only 24 hour, staffed refuge in New South Wales."

Links for Women has been staffed 24 hours a day since 'day dot' 40 years ago when the refuge first opened. Mrs Salvestro said and they fought long and hard to maintain that which is something they won't give up.

"We see that as vital in a regional area. We have women who turn up at two in the morning on our doorstep and if you're not staffed, where do those women go?"

If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, please contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Griffith women's refuge on (02) 6964 3381

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