Never in my life did I imagine I would own an apartment – let alone renovate one. But here I am.
this is not any apartment and I am not a traditional homeowner. I am turning this little slice of suburbia into a safe haven for domestic violence victims.
Stacey’s Sanctuary is named after nine-year-old Stacey-Ann Tracy, who was murdered by my stepfather in 1990.
This project is part of my commitment to ensuring her name – and legacy – lives on.
Right now, it looks like a dump, but soon it will be a home for women needing space to breathe, recover and save money for their own permanent housing.
Please consider donating or buying a t-shirt to help me fund Stacey’s Sanctuary.
Access to transitional housing is limited across Australia – some women wait more than eight years to get a transitional home.
My apartment will help about 10-20 women over the next decade or so. It is a small step, but if all of us who can, did the same thing we’d make a huge difference and save many lives.
My good mate Pete, my partner Lara and I have started doing the hard Yaka to make sure the Sanctuary is the best it can be before I hand the keys over to an organisation supporting Aboriginal women leaving domestic violence.
We ripped the floors up in the first week of November. The carpet and floating floor specialists will come in on November 10 and November 12 to put the new flooring in.
After that, we will turn our attention to the kitchen and bathroom. I had hoped to re-tile, the cost is prohibitive so the tiles will be re-grouted.
I have an awesome plumber – Paul – who is doing the plumbing pro bono and hope to locate an electrician to provide some electrical support (hit me up if you can help).
The renovations are slow-going as my work documenting the killing of women and children never stops and I am also releasing episodes of the She Matters Podcast, providing advocacy and support for families of femicide and juggling everything else that The RED HEART Campaign and Australian Femicide Watch undertakes.
❤️SUPPORT MY WORK❤️
I need your help to support The RED HEART Campaign and Australian Femicide Watch. You can donate or buy a t-shirt! 100% of money raised funds RED HEART and Australian Femicide Watch.