The History of Jireh House

Jireh House was set up in 1982 by a group of Christians to provide a home for young, pregnant girls and/or women in need. The organisation was given the use of the current residence by Reg and the late Corrie Doedens, for this purpose. Within 12 months of commencing operation, the target group officially became women and women with children escaping domestic violence. This was due to a growing awareness of the needs of these women and children and also to provide a choice for women in the kind of service they may need.

The house was initially staffed by volunteers but in 1984 the government was offering grants for crisis accommodation services that had been established by community groups. We thank God for this provision, as we were facing increasing difficulty in finding volunteers for the early morning and early evening time-slots, which were also very stressful times for the clients in the house and it was clear that support was crucial for them during those times.

Our first paid employees covered two time-slots: 7 - 10 am and 4 - 8 pm. As grant money became available we were successful in obtaining resources to provide 24 hour support with paid employees, as well as a paid child support worker and eventually an outreach worker.

Following on from negotiations with the Federal and State governments, women's services became funded under an agreement commonly known as SAAP (Supported Accommodation Assistance Program). In 2000 there was a Restructure of the SAAP program and we were required to tender for future funding and were also required to broaden our target group to : Women and Women with Children who have been made Homeless due to various life Crises.

As funding increased for women's services so did accountability requirements and the government developed the SAAP standards. We review our policies/guidelines regularly to comply with these standards.

Jireh House currently has a crisis house which can accommodate 4 women or women with children, providing crisis assessment and support. We also have eight transitional houses which are leased through Housing Tasmania, where clients move to following their crisis period and can stay in these facilities for up to 6 months, receiving on-going support from the service.

Jireh House believes that lasting changes occur when good relationships, founded on trust, are built. Genuine support, within an empowerment model, and a holistic approach in our assistance to clients, creates an environment of positive changes where needed.

Jireh House aims to help stabilise the women and children who enter the service and re-establish them in the community. Many of the clients stay in the local community due to the excellent support networks they establish during their stay. Jireh House has good relationships with all local services, including police, medical and health services, family support services and schools.