Kim Ransa's Safe House: a joint venture between Doris Women's Refuge and private community donors

Kim Ransa's Safe House is a joint venture between Doris Women's Refuge and private community donors to provide an immediate response to a vulnerable population of women and children living in the ACT, migrants and refugees fleeing domestic violence.

The owners are charging a nominal rate of $5 per week and other expenses such as food, transport and utilities are being met by private donations.

Doris Women's Refuge co-ordinator Marluce Silva Peters was thrilled to have the house up and running, with many women and children otherwise living in desperate circumstances in Canberra, feeling there was nowhere to turn.

"They're exhausted," she said.

Ms Silva Peters said women who were homeless or escaping domestic violence faced huge challenges.

Women who were also migrants and refugees in the same circumstances had just another layer of complexity to navigate, often without any support, she said.

"For migrant and refugee women, especially for those who do not have an income, or inherent legitimacy and recognition in our systems, the barriers and challenges are higher when seeking safe housing and access to legal, health, education and all types of human and social services," she said.

"This includes mothers with children who hold Australian citizenship certificates but, regardless, remain excluded from policies and from community care."

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Those eligible to stay in the home included women and children leaving domestic violence, those who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, those who were not eligible to access government income support and did not have sufficient income to secure housing and other essential goods and services and those isolated and without family or community support.

Ms Silva Peters said ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee had been invited to name the safe house in recognition of her "humane, reflective and committed understanding and supportive approach to many women and children who do meet the priority areas for this service and who experience additional barriers in our community, including racism".

The house is named after educator Kim Ransa who inspired Korean women to be educated at a time when they were discouraged from being anything other than devoted wives and mothers.

Ms Silva Peters said the Kim Ransa's Safe House was an example of "leasing with a cause", where a partnership could be struck between private landlords and support services.

She hoped the arrangement could be replicated elsewhere in Canberra, helping to close the gap between available services and women and children who were "impoverished and dispossessed due to their immigration status".

"The population is not enormous, but it is present," she said.

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