Magnolia Place LWS, Launceston Women’s Shelter Inc Marks 50 Years of Supporting Women and Children

Mag­no­lia Place LWS, Launce­s­ton Women’s Shelter is proud to announce its 50^th anniver­sary, mark­ing five decades of pro­vid­ing safe­ty, sup­port, and empow­er­ment to women and chil­dren escap­ing fam­i­ly vio­lence and expe­ri­enc­ing home­less­ness. As the organ­i­sa­tion acknowl­edges this mile­stone, it also looks to the future with a renewed vision and mis­sion to cham­pi­on the rights, safe­ty, and future of women and their children.

Since open­ing its doors in 1975, the Launce­s­ton Women’s Shel­ter, now trad­ing as Mag­no­lia Place LWS, has been a haven and a resource for thou­sands of women and chil­dren seek­ing a new begin­ning. The shel­ter pro­vides women and their chil­dren with safe sup­port­ed accom­mo­da­tion and empow­ers them to rebuild their lives, restore self-esteem, and reclaim independence.

On Feb­ru­ary 9, 2023, Mag­no­lia Place LWS achieved a his­toric mile­stone with the open­ing of 15 new hous­ing units, thought­ful­ly designed by 6ty° Archi­tects, pro­fes­sion­al­ly built by Beard­wood Pty Ltd, and fund­ed by the Tas­man­ian Gov­ern­ment through its Afford­able Hous­ing Action Plan, with addi­tion­al sup­port from the Com­mon­wealth Government’s Fam­i­ly Vio­lence Action Plan Safe Places Grant (Depart­ment of Social Ser­vices). Secur­ing and devel­op­ing these new units was a sig­nif­i­cant under­tak­ing, and a pow­er­ful tes­ta­ment to Mag­no­lia Place LWS’s advo­ca­cy efforts and com­mit­ment to ensur­ing women and their chil­dren have access to safe, sta­ble hous­ing in times of crisis.

“Our mis­sion has always been to pro­vide women and their chil­dren in cri­sis with a wel­com­ing, sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment and the resources they need to build a thriv­ing future,” said Jen­ny, CEO of Mag­no­lia Place LWS. ​“Reach­ing 50 years is both an offi­cial recog­ni­tion of our his­to­ry and a recom­mit­ment to the work ahead. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, 50 years lat­er, the need for our ser­vices remains urgent, and this anniver­sary serves as a reminder of the impor­tance of stand­ing togeth­er to cre­ate a safer community.”

To hon­our this anniver­sary, Launce­s­ton May­or Matthew Gar­wood will host a Civic Recep­tion on Fri­day, Octo­ber 24, 2025, at the Launce­s­ton Town Hall, bring­ing togeth­er shel­ter staff, board mem­bers, oth­er gov­ern­ment fund­ed ser­vices, com­mu­ni­ty sup­port­ers, and gov­ern­ment. The event will pro­vide an oppor­tu­ni­ty to hon­our the many mean­ing­ful con­tri­bu­tions made through­out Mag­no­lia Place LWS’s 50-year jour­ney. It will acknowl­edge the resilience of the women who have been at the heart of its sto­ry, high­light the shelter’s last­ing impact on the Launce­s­ton com­mu­ni­ty, and fea­ture reflec­tions from key speak­ers who have played an instru­men­tal role in sup­port­ing its success.

Com­mu­ni­ty sup­port has always been at the heart of Mag­no­lia Place LWS’s mis­sion. In recog­ni­tion of this mile­stone, the shel­ter invites indi­vid­u­als, busi­ness­es, and organ­i­sa­tions to con­tribute to its future by donat­ing, here: https://​lws​.org​.au/​d​o​n​a​tions

As Mag­no­lia Place LWS enters its next chap­ter, it con­tin­ues to be an unwa­ver­ing advo­cate for women in cri­sis, ded­i­cat­ed to pro­vid­ing safe­ty, dig­ni­ty, and a path­way to inde­pen­dence. The shel­ter grate­ful­ly acknowl­edges 50 years of sup­port and fund­ing from the Tas­man­ian Gov­ern­ment, Homes Tas­ma­nia, and the Launce­s­ton community.