Safety House ACT forced to close after 20 years

From a bustling organisation of more than 25 staffers at its peak, Safety House now is down to a committee of just five.

President Craig Woodburn said that while the announcement was sad, they were just bowing to the inevitable.

"Safety house has done its job," he said. "It was essential at the time it was created, and that need has grown less and less over the years, but now is a time to celebrate what it was able to achieve in the time it was around."

The Safety House program was first founded in the ACT in 1993 and gave children and adults who were in trouble a safe place to go in their community.

But Mr Woodburn said over the years Safety Houses had been needed less and less as the community changed.

"For example, if my child had a problem with his bike, I'd expect him to give me a call on his mobile and I'd go and help him out. Whereas back 20 years ago, somebody would have had to go to a house and call," he said.

"Communities these days seem to just keep to themselves more... It's a bit sad."

Former Safety House coordinator for Gungahlin Christine Coulthard said although there were still more than 400 houses city-wide who wanted to be part of the program, there were just too few volunteers.

She said the program hadn't just been for children, it was also important for the territory's senior citizens.

"A lot of our older people walk around without identification, and particularly in hot weather they can have a dizzy turn or need some water," she said. "Their mobile is going to be no need to them then because help is too far away."

Mrs Coulthard, who was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work with the community, said people just don't have the time to volunteer anymore.

"There is a lack of a volunteering mentality in the community at the moment," she said. "It's sad, but people are time poor nowadays so what spare time they have they want to spend with their famillies."