Australia’s 'First' Domestic Violence Shelter For Men Has Opened In Queensland

Australia's 'first' domestic violence shelter for men has opened in Queensland.

Sheltered By Grace will help men over 25 in the state's south east escape violent and hurtful relationships and give them the support they need at a crucial time.

They have food and utilities, secure and furnished rooms, transportation to and from health appointments, and 24-hour on-site management.

Staff also offer weekly group discussions to help domestic violence survivors open up about their experiences, as well as Bible study and church services.

A nearly $100,000 funding boost from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund allowed for the Logan-based shelter to expand their operations and build 12 new rooms specifically for men.

Sheltered by Grace co-founder Jason Loake told the ABC: "Forget about affordable housing, we desperately need emergency housing in Queensland and right across Australia.

"It's just a daft model to put them in housing by themselves and hopefully one carer may see them once a month."

One in Three, which is an online domestic violence advocacy group, claims this is the first of its kind in the country.

Mr Loake is hoping to get more funding to expand even further to offer a tapered approach to helping survivors.

"The model is to go from shared accommodation to single rooms, and then hopefully to their own unit to see how they're coping with not only their mental health, their physical health, but everything else in the world," he said.

"It's a great insight to see how they're looking after their room - or in this case it's going to be their own little tiny home.

"If they can look after that, we know they're well and truly ready to stand on their own two feet and hopefully never need our services, or services like ours, again."

Jeremiah's House is also trying to get funding together to launch Australia's second men's shelter in Bundaberg, according to One in Three.

It's a landmark achievement to have this facility directly catering men, who most of the time have nowhere to turn to when they're dealing with violence from their partner.

Shocking statistics reveal one in 16 Australian men have suffered physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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