A Newcastle MP has made a renewed plea for the funding of a domestic violence service, which it's supporters say is "one of a kind" in the region.
Federal MP for Newcastle Sharon Claydon delivered a speech to the chamber on Wednesday requesting for $300,000 to keep Newcastle's Domestic Violence Resource Centre, a project of Jenny's Place, running.
"I urge, beg and plead: please released some of the allocated $82 million for the very purpose it was intended - frontline domestic services," she said.
"There are literally lives hanging in the balance of your decision."
The Domestic Violence Resource Centre is a "one-stop shop" for women facing abuse to seek safety, legal and financial advice. For the past two years the centre has been funded by Port Waratah Coal Services, however, its corporate funding is set to run out this month. For 10 years prior the centre survived on donations.
Saibre Johnstone, Jenny's Place Corporate Partnerships Specialist, said the service submitted a funding proposal to state and federal ministers in August but said that the centre was "yet to receive any updates regarding the proposal". So far 3,700 people have signed a petition for funding online.
Jenny's Place manager Marcia Chapman said that although the project had never received government funding, the increased demand for its services from women and other agencies meant it would not be sustainable in the "long-run" without government support.
"We've got to a point where it's critical," she said.
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