Run under the auspices of the Brisbane Sikh Temple, Sahara House opened its doors to victims of family violence almost three years ago.
Highlights:
- created for female victims of Indian origin in Australia
- Although the property belongs to the Brisbane Sikh Temple, women from any faith background from the Indian subcontinent take refuge, along with their children
- When finished, it will have the capacity to accommodate 15 female victims of violence at any time
It is the first, and so far the only shelter in Australia to provide culturally specific services and refuge to women and children fleeing from abusive households.
"Currently, we have five women and five children aged under 3 residing at Sahara house," says the manager Jatinder Kaur. "Through this funding, we will be able to provide accommodation and other services to at least five more women at any given time."
"This is very timely because COVID-19 has had an adverse impact on family violence and we have had an increasing demand for our services."
Ms Kaur says that although the property belongs to the Brisbane Sikh Temple, women of all faiths receive assistance.
"We have had one lady from Sri Lanka, another from southern India, and one from Gujarat, apart from some women from Punjab and other parts of north India. So we provide culturally sensitive services to all women from the Indian subcontinent - we help them liaise with the Police, courts and even look after visa issue," says Ms Kaur.
The Punjabi community has donated generously to Sahara House in the recent past as well.
A swing set donated by a member of the Punjabi community to Sahara House Source: Supplied
"We had a donation of a swing set, since we have many children living in the shelter. We've had computers delivered to us. So it's really heartening to see the community supporting us as well."
Similarly, there was grant from the Brisbane City Council of $3,000 to make a childproof fence.
But most recently, as part of the Safe Places program, the federal government announced a funding of $60 million to increase capacity of shelters that provide refuge to women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Assistant Minister for Social Services, Luke Howarth told SBS Punjabi that 40 applications were approved as part of this program, through which new accommodation would either be built or repurposed.
Sahara House is one of only four successful recipients of this funding, which cater specifically to culturally and linguistically diverse women, and the only one for the Indian community.
Explaining how the allocation of $231,000 will be used, Ms Kaur said, "We will build a new 3-bedroom granny flat with a bathroom and kitchen, will complete the donated Tiny House which will have one bedroom, a kitchenette, toilet and shower; and we will renovate a current garage to create more accommodation, also making some fencing and security upgrades."
Click on the audio link above to hear the full interview with Jatinder Kaur.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family violence or sexual assault, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 7328) or call Mens' Referral Service on 1300 766 491. In an emergency, please call 000.
If you are experiencing stress, call Lifeline at 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636
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