Lou’s Place is a community based, privately run daytime refuge for women in crisis. The women who visit Lou’s Place have experienced multiple traumas in their lives and the majority are facing issues of homelessness, domestic violence, mental health or addiction. For the past 21 years Lou’s Place has helped over 180,000 clients. Each year our case managers assist with referrals, counselling, advocacy, legal advice and setting up appointments for physical and mental health issues. Our client’s basic needs are met with clothing, toiletries, showers and laundry facilities and our army of volunteers have cooked and served over 128,000 nutritious hot meals. Since the pandemic started in March 2020, the demand for our services has increased to the point where Lou’s place is frequently running at capacity and is having to turn women away due to lack of space. Lou’s Place has launched a capital campaign aimed at purchasing bigger premises to accommodate the increasing number of women who need our help. We are seeking community assistance to enable us to continue supporting the most vulnerable women in our community, as Australia recovers from this social and economic crisis.