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National | Hamilton

Women's Refuge services under pressure in Hamilton

Te Whakaruruhau Womens Refuge is being inundated with women and their children needing emergency accommodation and the women's shelter is appealing to the community for help, with all the rooms in their five Hamilton refuges full and over 60 cases still to help on the waiting list.

Te Whakaruruhau have been offered a large movable house to help ease the increase in families reaching out to them and they're are asking for the community to pitch in.

Numbers have increased considerably in recent months. Of those seeking help from the Refuge, nationwide the number of cases who have made contact with refuges around the country is 14 thousand, 7 thousand of those to Te Whakaruruhau.

There are currently 60 families on the waiting list, and according to Ruahine, many of them are there because of state housing shortages, some have been waiting for as long as 10 months.

Ultimately financial backing would be the ideal, but help from the community will be greatly appreciated at the same time.