Protea Place Warwick closure sends shockwaves, as community groups call for answers

The sudden and heartbreaking announcement a newly-established women’s refuge would close its doors to the Southern Downs has been met with disappointment and a community advocacy group calling for answers. DETAILS.

Warwick's Protea Place on Guy St, Warwick (Photo: NRM).

The devastating decision to end the services of a women’s support centre in the Southern Downs region has sent shockwaves throughout the community and left advocacy groups feeling blindsided.

In August 2023 Protea Place opened a hub in Warwick to help assist with the increasing number of women in the region facing homelessness.

Protea Place chief executive Amanda Dalton announced on the not-for-profit’s Facebook page on Saturday the Warwick site would not continue its services past its 12-month pilot period.

The post went on to explain the Warwick site had fulfilled its purpose in assessing its viability to operate in the absence of government funding.

“These decisions are not made lightly and we have worked hard to ensure a legacy of support to vulnerable women in the Warwick and Southern Downs region remains,” the post said.

The post maintained that “all funds and resources will remain in Warwick” following the services closure.

“These decisions are not made lightly and we have worked hard to ensure a legacy of support to vulnerable women in the Warwick and Southern Downs Region remains,” the statement read.

“Very importantly all remaining funds and resources will remain in Warwick for Warwick.

“We are extremely happy to announce that specific funding for housing support for domestic family violence has been allocated to the Warwick region through Domestic Violence Action Centre who will not only continue their vital existing services in Warwick but will be working on growing additional support in the near future.”

The Warwick service is said to have supported 300 women in the region since its official opening in August 2023.

Southern Downs based Women’s Advocacy & Action Team, said they “along with the general community only learnt about the end of Protea Place Warwick via (the) post”.

“It is highly disappointing and sad for many that Protea Place Warwick will be no longer, especially when the need and necessary delivery of support to vulnerable women has been proven beyond a doubt through its trial,” the group posted.

The comment made on Protea Place’s statement via social media about the allocation of funding for women’s support services to the Domestic Violence Action Centre has left a number of community members confused about future services in the region.

Domestic Violence Action Centre service manager Kath Turley. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Domestic Violence Action Centre service manager Kath Turley said the service will not be taking over Protea Place’s services, with DVAC’s ongoing outreach services to continue across the Southern Downs.

“It’s really devastating that (Protea Place) is closing because it provided a number of services that DVAC can’t (including) providing hot showers and meals,” she said.

“From DVAC’s perspective we’ll continue doing what we have been with the only change being the addition of our new housing program that’s just rolled out in the Southern Downs.

“I have heard some murmurings that our housing assistance program is the reason for Protea Place’s closure, which is not at all true.”

Ms Turley said DVAC’s housing assistance program had been in the works for quite some time and had no influence on Protea Place’s decision to close the Warwick site.

DVAC will continue to offer its outreach and support services for those in the Southern Downs and wider communities affected by domestic violence.

Warwick Safe Haven president Bette Bonney said although the move may disappoint the community, it was important to see the big picture, and that the funds would remain locally.

“We can only look forward now to the next steps that DVAC will do as a very well trusted organisation working on behalf of the Warwick community,” Ms Bonney said.

“There’s a lot of background conversations that have taken place on why this happened and we know it hasn't been done lightly, so it would have been with a lot of searching and working out what can happen, and although it’s not ideal on any front it, has happened.”

Protea Place chief executive Amanda Dalton has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Protea Place Warwick closure sends shockwaves, as community groups call for answers