Alice Springs hostel celebrates expanding First Nations emergency accommodation for women and children

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Indigenous Australians minister Senator Malarndirri McCarthy was in Alice Springs today to celebrate the expansion of a short-term emergency accommodation facility for First Nations women and children.  Run by Aboriginal Hostels Limited, Apmere Mwerre now has 20 extra beds for families needing a safe place to sleep and find support in a domestic violence crisis.

Transcript

00:00A ceremony to welcome a new safe space for First Nations women and children in Alice Springs.

00:09At Metamweta Visitor Park, run by Aboriginal Hostels Limited, now with 20 extra short-stay beds for those in need.

00:18Indigenous Australians Minister Malindiri McCarthy today launching the expansion worth $4.9 million,

00:25funded through the Federal Government's Central Australia Plan.

00:30We have 43 Aboriginal hostels across the country, and they are really the backbone of our First Nations families,

00:38a place to be able to stay when they need help, when they need assistance, but also a safe space.

00:46Rates of homelessness in the NT are more than 12 times the national average,

00:51and homelessness services say there's more work required.

00:55NT Shelter calling on the NT Government to create a housing supply plan.

00:59These new beds that are coming online down in Alice Springs are going to be incredibly important

01:04to the ecosystem of accommodation needs down in Alice Springs, but there is more to be done.

01:10Culturally safe emergency housing, a step in the right direction.

01:15You want people to come here and feel like it's actually home, you know, it's actually a home away from home.

01:21They feel comfortable, not just in the accommodation, but in the services we provide from a cultural perspective.

01:27A new space to find refuge, always welcome.

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