IWHC coordinator Bonnie Comber, Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson, IWHC general manager Tonina Harvey, and The Shellharbour Club CEO Jason Petrolo. Photo: Supplied.
Forty-year-old bathroom facilities that create accessibility barriers for women seeking support at the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre will finally be renovated following a more than $50,000 funding boost.
The Warilla centre, which supports more than 3000 women each year, will use the ClubGRANTS funding to create accessible facilities and improve safety, privacy and dignity for women who use the centre.
Women who seek support from the centre experience a range of circumstances, including domestic and family violence, homelessness, financial hardship, disability, social isolation and mental health challenges.
Built in 1986, the facilities no longer adequately meet the needs of those women particularly with mobility limitations or disability, older women, carers using prams or mobility aids, women living with chronic illness and those recovering from injury or trauma.
Renovations will include accessible toilets and sinks, grab rails, widened doorways, non-slip flooring, accessible fixtures and fittings and other modifications to improve accessibility and functionality.
Illawarra Women’s Health Centre coordinator Bonnie Comber said the funding from the Shellharbour ClubGANTS Scheme would have a direct impact on women accessing the centre.
“As we celebrate 40 years of supporting women across the Illawarra, this funding is incredibly meaningful for our centre and to the women who walk through our doors every day,” Ms Comber said.
“Our bathroom facilities have served the community for four decades, but they no longer meet the needs of many of the women accessing our services.
“This upgrade will provide a safer, more accessible and dignified space for women of all ages and abilities.”
She said they were grateful to The Shellharbour Club and the ClubGRANTS program for investing in helping ensure women could continue accessing “essential support services with dignity and confidence”.
The Shellharbour Club CEO Jason Petrolo said the project was an example of how ClubGRANTS funding provided clubs with a meaningful way to invest back into the community.
“This is exactly the kind of community investment where a relatively straightforward project can make a very real difference to people’s lives,” Mr Petrolo said.
“We’re not simply funding a bathroom renovation – we’re helping remove a barrier for women accessing vital services.
“For women accessing the centre, having a safe and accessible bathroom is fundamental – it’s part of being able to access services with dignity and confidence.”
She said it was proud to be able to partner with the centre on the project to ensure the centre could continue its work at a time when support services were in such great demand.
Construction is expected to begin in September.
Demand for support services has continued to grow amid increasing housing stress, domestic and family violence and cost-of-living pressures across the Illawarra.
