Domestic violence and homelessness outreach groups have renewed their calls for a dedicated female homeless shelter in Alice Springs following a spike in the number of women in the city sleeping rough and being assaulted.
The Northern Territory has the highest rates of homelessness in Australia, and yet Alice Springs, its biggest regional town, has no emergency accommodation facility for women fearing for their own safety.
CEO of the Alice Springs Domestic Violence Shelter, Di Gipey says that up to 10 percent of the town’s homeless have nowhere to go at night and the shelter is forced to turn away more than 2000 women and children each year.