‘Miraculous’: new home gifted to women and children at risk

The new Lily House premises. Lily House provides women in crisis with a loving, safe home environment where they can receive support.

Lily House has a new home for young women and children in need thanks to the generous donation of a beautiful local building. 

The group was forced to relocate at the end of their lease twelve months ago. Now ‘home’ will be forever secure for vulnerable and at-risk young women and their children. 

“The way a building was gifted to us last year, right when we were two days from having nowhere to go is nothing short of miraculous,” said Lily House Business Manager Jo Higgins.

The building has undergone extensive renovations to make it fit for the purpose of eventually housing five ladies and seven children.

“The work is coming along beautifully,” Jo said. “Everything feels so fresh and lovely. I think that having our own property and the security that it provides will also enable us to expand our thinking about what we can do with the young people who come to us for support.

“We will be able to teach our young women and their children a greater love, appreciation and respect for home. They will be able to have input into the yard and gardens. We plan to teach them how to grow food and prepare it, amongst other things,” she said.

“Importantly, we will also be able to teach them about generosity, gratitude and the importance of giving back. While we have always required that our young women participate in community focussed work, we intend to emphasize that even more in future”.

The new accommodation is expected to be ready by the end of this month, but the ongoing wet weather and some unforeseen expenses have caused some delays.

“I have set up a GoFundMe account to help, and it is where people can make any contribution they are able to,” Jo said. “As you can imagine, there are always plenty of ways to spend money that is donated. For the moment though, I need to purchase fresh linen, and therapeutic resources  for the children. During the rain, eight car seats were damaged, as well as our barbecue and playmats, and they will also need to be replaced”.

Lily House offers supported accommodation  for vulnerable and at risk women and their children. The women may be escaping domestic violence, recovering from addiction, homeless or young pregnant girls.  They are based on Christian values and offer a holistic wrap around service.

• The link to the GoFundMe account is www.gofundme.com/f/lily-houses-forever-home 

All donations will be very gratefully received.