Sisters Hand in Hand

💗 CASE UPDATE - A mother and her young children.

Because of your generosity, this family has been able to breathe a little easier.

After this mother returned home from hospital, our community stepped in around her in the most beautiful way.

Together, we were able to:

🛒 Do a huge grocery shop and fill her cupboards
🏠 Pay $5,000 towards rent arrears and rent ahead
🔥 Pay off her outstanding gas bill
🍲 Provide cooked meals and food donations
🧹 Have volunteers attend the home to help clean
🤍 Support and care for the children while mum was able to rest and recover

To every single person who donated food, cooked meals, contributed financially, helped with cleaning, cared for the children, delivered items, shared the appeal, checked in on the family or supported in any other way, thank you 🤩

Both our sisters and brothers in the community stepped up, and because of that collective support, this mother did not have to face everything alone.

She was able to return home knowing there was food in the cupboards, her rent was taken care of, an important bill was cleared, her children were supported, and there were people around her who genuinely cared.

This is what community looks like.

Sometimes support is not one big thing. It is many people each doing what they can, and together creating something that can completely change a family’s situation.

This is Sisters Hand in Hand.
This is what happens when a community comes together 🤝

A HUGE thank you to Perth Modest Thrift Club for having Sisters Hand in Hand at your beautiful event today! 💗

A very special thank you to Sister Rayanne from Sugar Craft Creations for generously donating the gorgeous custom cookies that we were able to give to customers who purchased from our table. They were absolutely beautiful and such a lovely touch.

A huge thank you to our community connectors - Soraya and Firoza, who managed our table for the entire day. We are so grateful for your time, energy and commitment.

And most importantly, an enormous thank you to every single person who stopped by and everyone who is still coming through, to purchase and support us today.

100% of the proceeds from our table are going directly to Home of Amal, our women and children’s refuge right here in Perth.

When you purchase from us, you’re not simply buying an item. You’re supporting local, supporting your community, and helping provide safety, stability and support to women and children who need it most.

Thank you, Perth. Your support truly makes a difference 🤩

🚨 URGENT PLEASE HELP US KEEP THIS FAMILY SAFE, WARM AND OFF THE STREETS 🚨

This family has gone through a lot. They have the hearts of gold but need support during their incredibly difficult time now.

Today, our team called more than 32 motels trying to find somewhere, anywhere, for a family of four to sleep tonight.

For the past four to five nights, this family has been sleeping in tents near a train station, exposed to the cold and rain.

The father has suffered a stroke.
Both children are autistic.
Mum is the primary carer for her husband and both of her children.

All three members of the family requiring care are NDIS participants, however after the family travelled overseas so Mum could care for sick family members, they returned to Australia and are currently waiting for their NDIS and Centrelink support to be reinstated.

Their Centrelink payments are expected to begin again within approximately 12 days.

But 12 days is a very long time when you have nowhere safe to sleep.

Today, one of the children sat with our team wearing a yellow high-vis raincoat. When we spoke with her, she explained that she wears it because it helps keep her dry when it rains.

Because they have been sleeping outside.

Because their tent has been their home.

The children have difficulties with speech because of their autism, but they were able to tell us enough.

They told us how cold they were in the tent last night.

And while our team sat on the phone calling motel after motel, they stayed beside us, holding our hand and repeatedly asking:

“Are you going to find us somewhere to sleep tonight?”

“Please keep trying.”

“Please keep trying.”

Those words have stayed with us.

After calling more than 32 places, we finally found them a room for tonight.

Tonight, these children will not have to sleep in a freezing tent.

They will have a bed.

They will have a shower.

They will have four walls around them.

They will be warm.

But tonight is only one night!

We urgently need the community's help to keep this family in accommodation until their Centrelink payments begin and we can work with them towards a more stable, long-term housing solution.

Every night we can fund means these children remain warm, dry and safe

If you cannot donate, please share this post. Someone in your network may be able to help!

Sisters Hand in Hand
BSB: 066-125
Account: 10566562
Reference: Homeless Support

‼️ SISTER MARYAM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT ‼️
(Name changed for safety reasons)

"Right now I have no income.
I keep thinking about what happens next week, next month, what happens if my children need something.

Because of my situation, I can’t just go onto Centrelink and have money coming in. Everything takes time forms, appointments, waiting and trying to work out what I’m even eligible for.
I’m so grateful to be at the refuge because here my children and I are safe and they take care of everything we need.
But in my head I’m always thinking… what am I going to do?
I just want to get to a point where I can support my children myself again.”

Today, we are urgently asking our community to help us support this mother and her children.

Because of her visa circumstances, Sister Maryam currently has no access to Centrelink income. We are working through every possible option with her, but these processes take time and her options are extremely limited.

In the meantime, life does not stop.

Her children still need to be cared for. There are expenses that cannot wait. Until she has an income of her own, our refuge is carrying those costs for her.

This is the reality for so many women referred to us. Many have nowhere else able to take them because they have no Centrelink income.

But we take them in.

We provide their accommodation, food, transport, clothing, medication, phones, toiletries, children’s needs and everything required to help them rebuild.

Around 50% of the women entering our refuge are Zakat eligible.

Right now, we desperately need your help to carry Sister Maryam and her children through this period.

$20 matters.
$50 matters.
$100 matters.
Every donation helps us keep this mother safe and supported while we work towards getting her back onto her feet.

She has no Centrelink payment coming next week.
No income to fall back on.
No financial safety net.

For now, we need to be that safety net.

If you have been looking for somewhere to give your Sadaqah or, where eligible, your Zakat, please consider helping Sister Maryam and the other women currently living in our refuge.

Please donate today!

Sadaqah
Sisters Hand in Hand
BSB: 066-125
Account: 10566562

✨ ✨ Food Hampers ✨✨

This week, our Sisters Hand in Hand team has been out all across Perth delivering food hampers to individuals and families who are feeling the pressure of the rising cost of living.

For many households, the cost of groceries and basic household essentials is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. These hampers are one small but practical way we can help ease that pressure and make sure people in our community feel supported.

To everyone who continues to donate, please know that your generosity is reaching people who genuinely need it. Every bag of rice, tin of food, cleaning product and hygiene items makes its way directly into the hands of someone doing it tough.

We are always grateful to receive donations of non-perishable food items, household cleaning products, and hygiene products for both men and women.

Your support allows us to continue responding to client's needs with dignity, care and compassion.

Thank you for standing with our community and helping us make sure no one has to struggle alone.

Sisters Hand in Hand was honoured to attend the Ahmadiyya Women’s Auxiliary Peace Symposium 2026, an important gathering centred on peace, justice, dignity and the kind of world we are creating for generations to come.

Our CEO, Korann Halvorsen, was incredibly honoured to be invited as a panellist alongside Senator for Western Australia Fatima Payman, Deputy Mayor of Cockburn Phoebe Cooke, Western Australian Police Sergeant Prue Foulks, State President of The Country Women’s Association of WA Felicity Edwards, and Joanne McGillivray from Yangebup Family Centre.

Korann spoke about family and domestic violence and the role we all play in creating peaceful, cohesive communities. Peace is not simply the absence of conflict. It begins in homes where people feel safe, in families where every person is respected, and in communities where women and girls are valued, protected and able to live with dignity, alongside men and boys who should also feel respected, supported and valued.

At Sisters Hand in Hand, this sits at the heart of our wraparound approach. The women we support are never reduced to what has happened to them. They are mothers, daughters, professionals, students, entrepreneurs, friends and remarkable individuals with strengths, hopes and futures that deserve to be recognised.

When we support people with dignity, rather than defining them by their trauma, we help rebuild more than an individual life. We strengthen families, create safer communities and contribute to a more peaceful world for our children to inherit.

A healthy family dynamic is one where every member of the family feels respected, valued, protected and cared for. That is where peace begins, and from there it extends into our communities and the wider society.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an important conversation and to stand alongside so many people working towards a future built on justice, social cohesion, respect, safety, dignity and peace.

A heartfelt thank you to the Ahmadiyya Women’s Auxiliary for the kind invitation and for creating such a meaningful space for these important conversations. We were truly grateful to be included.

Deputy Mayor Cr Phoebe Corke - City of Cockburn
Senator Fatima Payman

We are currently supporting two families who are in need of a few practical items to help make everyday life a little easier.

We have listed exactly what each family needs on the flyers. If you have any of these items in good to great condition and would like to donate them, we would be incredibly grateful. For hygiene reasons, pillows and towels must be brand new.

For Family 1, the needs are mainly household and kitchen essentials, along with Woolworths shopping vouchers. Family 2 is currently needing an adult bicycle, a laptop computer and Woolworths gift cards.

Sometimes the things sitting unused in our homes can be exactly what another family needs right now.

If you are able to assist with any of the listed items, please contact us:

📧 [email protected]
📞 0422 937 465

Thank you to everyone who continues to help us support families with dignity, care and practical assistance.

URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED FOR A MOTHER & HER THREE CHILDREN

We have recently received a referral from another agency for a single mother of three young children who has been through an incredibly difficult five weeks.

Going to visit this Mum was heartbreaking, she has no family support and has always worked full-time to provide for herself and her children. She is not currently receiving Centrelink payments and has been carrying the full financial responsibility of her household by herself.

Unfortunately, she became extremely unwell and has had to be hospitalised for the past five weeks. During that time, she was unable to work, and despite doing everything she could before becoming sick, five weeks without an income has left her severely behind in rent, bills and everyday living expenses.

While she was in hospital, beautiful members of the community stepped forward to care for her children so that they were safe and supported. They have done an incredible job, but they
have only been able to provide enough financial support to cover the bare necessities for the children, and won’t even be able to keep doing that for much longer.

She is now coming out of hospital and needs help to get her family back on stable ground.

Our immediate priority is to provide groceries and household essentials for her and the children, assist with her rental arrears and pay several weeks of rent ahead, giving her some breathing room while we work alongside the referring agency to have her assessed for special benefits and any other assistance she may be eligible for. We will also be helping with several other essential expenses and practical supports needed as she transitions home and continues her recovery.

This is a mother who has worked, provided and cared for her family herself and then became too sick to continue doing so.

Sometimes five weeks is all it takes for a family living entirely from their own income to fall frighteningly behind.

We would love to surround this mother and her children with the support she does not have elsewhere and give her the opportunity to recover without immediately facing the fear of losing her home or wondering how she will feed her children.

If you are able to contribute towards her rent, groceries or other essential expenses, please send us a private message or see bank details below:

Sisters Hand in Hand
BSB: 066-125
Account: 10566562
Reference: HospitalMum

✨ Sisters Hand in Hand has officially moved ✨

We want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us throughout this journey. Whether you visited, donated, volunteered, shopped with us, attended one of our programs or simply showed your support.

We are now preparing for our next chapter, and while we are not quite ready to share all the details just yet, we are very excited about what is ahead.

There is still plenty happening behind the scenes as we get everything ready, and we ask for your continued support and patience during this transition.

Please note that we are no longer operating from our previous office in Canningvale.
Please DO NOT drop any donations or items there, as there will be no one on site to receive them.

If you need to contact us, arrange a donation, access support or have any questions, please get in touch with us directly and we will be happy to assist.

We look forward to sharing more with you soon and welcoming you into this next chapter of Sisters Hand in Hand 🤩