Builder John Adams, CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes business development manager Mark Noonan, Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, Condobolin parish representative Helen Atkinson, Condobolin parish priest Father Getulio Gonclaves, and Condobolin parish representative Tony Broadley at the project site.
An emergency accommodation project to support women and children leaving domestic violence is reaching major construction milestones at Condobolin.
Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes and the Condobolin Catholic parish have united to transform a church property for the new purpose.
The planned facility will bring much-needed support to the Lachlan local government area (LGA), which ranked 14th highest in the state for domestic violence assaults in 2022 in NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data.
BOCSAR figures show the LGA recorded 54 reported incidents in 2022, but its largest town, Condobolin, is 100 kilometres away from the nearest women’s shelter at Forbes.
Project manager CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes secured $800,785 from the Australian government’s Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program for the capital works and local builder John Adams was engaged to lead the project.
The Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes has made a generous in-kind contribution of the land and building at Condobolin. Renovations are on track for the church property to start its next chapter within the coming months.
Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, parish priest Father Getulio Goncalves, and representatives from CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes and the Condobolin parish visited the property in March to view progress.
“Women and children experiencing domestic violence in western NSW need and deserve access to safe emergency accommodation, which is what this new facility will deliver,” CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes chief executive officer Anne-Marie Mioche said.
Through the Condobolin project the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes seeks to welcome and care for the vulnerable and promote peace, and dignity.