About WASH HOUSE
Where it all began
The WASH House was born out of the vision, dedication and lobbying of a small group of local women and workers from Essie's Women's Refuge.
These extraordinary women identified the unmet support needs of the rapidly growing number of women escaping domestic violence being relocated to public housing in the Mount Druitt area.
How we have grown
The demands on the centre have been consistent, and ever increasing which has resulted in an effort to ensure the service remains as effective and as responsive as possible to the meet needs of the women who come through our doors.
While the WASH House was initially set up to support women once they moved on from the refuge, we have grown to provide services for all the women in our local community, primarily in Mount Druitt, the surrounding Blacktown and Penrith Local Government Areas.
Our Commitment
We are committed to women's rights to equality, to choose their own destiny and to have a safe environment for themselves and their children. We view women as capable, worthy, and of innate value.
Much like the washing machine that inspired our naming, the WASH House operates on a variety of settings.
On an individual level our key purpose is to assist women to become aware of their own self worth, improve their quality of life and reach their full potential. To this aim the WASH House provides information, resources, support services and group work as well as advocacy and assisted referrals.
On a second level the WASH House has a community development brief to promote both opportunities for the local community as well as quality services to meet their needs. We aim to build social capital and capacity by actively participating in inter-agencies and whole of community initiatives as well as developing strategic partnerships and programs.
On a third level the WASH House is concerned with the broader societal level, and issues both for women and a local community that experiences social, economic and locational disadvantage. It seems that lobbying and advocacy are dirty words in the community sector of late however the WASH continues to strive to keep women's issues on the public agenda and give a voice to the community regarding issues of interest.
