Our services

You Matter supports women and any children and dependents who have experienced family violence by setting up and furnishing safe, welcoming homes, whether they are transitioning to long-term or temporary accommodation.

Havens of Hope program – Long-term accommodation

Our Havens of hope program provides fully equipped, comfortable, and personalised homes for women, any children and dependents moving into long-term housing. These homes support women to re-establish stability, regain independence, and reconnect with community.

Onsite Setup Haven

Our original service, the Onsite Setup Haven is undertaken by our volunteer teams and is available for properties within Metropolitan Melbourne within approximate 60-minute drive of You Matter warehouse in Abbotsford, and where clients have not yet moved into their property. The Havens are decorated and styled by our volunteer teams from furniture and furnishings chosen from our warehouse.

Self-Setup Haven

Our new service, the Self-Setup Haven provides women, and any children and dependents with the opportunity to independently set up their new home with items chosen by our You Matter team based on preferences and needs outlined in the client’s referral and item request form. These items will be packed and labelled and delivered via a removalist to the client’s property. The client will receive the goods and be able to unpack and set up their spaces to create a comfortable home.

As part of the self-setup Haven service is the Sleep Sanctuary, this is for women who are moving into a shared rental where they may only need a bedroom and essential kitchen, laundry, bathroom packs.

The self-setup Haven service is available to women and any dependents across greater Melbourne and surrounding regional communities.

Both of our Haven services include beds and bedding; bathroom goods and toiletries; washing machines and other laundry essentials; fridges, cutlery, crockery, pots, pans, pantry staples; dining and living room furniture including a television, plus items to cater for the specific needs and tastes of the woman and her dependents, such as desks, books, toys and pet accessories. Items include new, near-new and quality second-hand items.

Havens of Hope program – Temporary or transitional accommodation

In response to Victoria’s growing housing crisis, and the increasing number of women and children remaining in transitional accommodation for extended periods, we have expanded our services to include a Transitional Accommodation program.

Our Transitional Accommodation program can include setting up individual or multiple units of transitional housing in partnership with family violence support agencies, and housing providers enabling them to provide ready-to-use, supportive accommodation for women and their dependents in urgent need.

If you are interested to learn more of how we may be able to assist, please reach out to the Manager Service Operations at [email protected]

By delivering a range of services within our Havens of Hope program we aim to support women in their healing and recovery journey.

Chatting with Marshall White about what we do at You Matter

In this video recording, our CEO Deborah de Rossi speaks with James Connell, founder of the Marshall White Foundation regarding the work of You Matter and the profound impact our work has on the lives of the women and children as they recover and heal from family violence.

Watch the video here*

*CONTENT WARNING* This video contains discussions relating to family violence