Helping Karinya House to support Canberra’s vulnerable mothers and babies

Posted on 22 April, 2026

Isla had a three-year-old when she discovered she was pregnant again at 19.

Having lost her own mother at age 12, she was living on the streets following time in foster care and prolonged exposure to family violence.

Isla was referred to Karinya House as she, her daughter and her newborn, were facing a dangerous and uncertain future.

And after an intensive period of residential support at Karinya, the three of them are now thriving.

With a proud history of 28 years of life-changing support for local mums and their babies, Karinya’s dedicated team snapped into action to do what they do best – seamlessly delivering Isla with medical, social and psychological support to ensure she gave birth with support, established breast feeding, gained life skills and eventually moved into an ACT Government house of her own.

Her new skills and confidence also propelled Isla to study for her nursing qualifications. These days, she is happily employed, and most importantly a devoted and loving mum to happy, healthy kids.

Such a life-changing intervention has long-lasting consequences, not least for Isla and her children, but for the entire Canberra community.

But the intensive work which allowed Isla to change her life’s trajectory does not come cheap.

It costs Karinya House on average $20,000 to support a woman and her babies or children with everything they need before and after pregnancy.

Last financial year saw Karinya House provide care and assistance to 138 women and 191 children.

But with only 60 per cent of ongoing operational costs covered by the ACT Government, community outreach and fundraising is a big part of what Karinya House has to do to meet demand.

Karinya House CEO Lavinia Tyrrel stresses ongoing community support is vital to the work of supporting vulnerable mothers and babies

According to CEO Lavinia Tyrrel, ongoing community support has been critical in giving Karinya the “flexibility to wrap around women, and to walk alongside them for as long as they need”.

It offers everything from accommodation (operating a 24/7, 356-day year “safe house” which can house up to 11 women and their infants), provides case work, health advice, access to housing, legal support, baby goods, food and groceries, transport, parenting skills, financial planning, social connection, connection to services and even support to return to work or study.

“We always want to be in a situation where we can support any woman who is pregnant or parenting a young baby and walks through our doors – no matter her level of need or length of support required,” says Lavinia.

While generous and committed Canberra donors have been the backbone of the charity, Karinya is under pressure to deal with ever-present demand.

“Not everyone in our community is aware of the challenges that women, and their infants, face before and after pregnancy,” Lavinia explains.

“While pregnancy is often a time of joy, also it can also be a time of extreme vulnerability for many in the ACT. Canberrans are often shocked to learn that almost one in three first time single mothers will experience domestic and family violence by the time their child is four.

“One in five mothers will experience perinatal anxiety or depression and women’s homelessness has increased 10 per cent since 2016.”

Single-headed female households also have the highest rates of poverty in Australia with almost 40 per cent of all women in this cohort living below the poverty line.

Lavinia notes the rising costs of living are not only causing more stress for vulnerable women, but are increasing the cost of Karinya delivering their services.

Karinya is calling on all members of the Canberra community to consider supporting their valuable work through a variety of ways.

Their new Bud of Hope campaign is a streamlined way for Canberrans who care to provide ongoing support for women navigating pregnancy and early motherhood. While many campaigns focus on a single moment of giving, Bud of Hope reflects the reality that growth takes time, using the flower analogy to acknowledge that support grows over many seasons.

“Transition to motherhood, transition as babies grow into children, transition over multiple pregnancies and even decades. This is the generational journey and impact we invite Canberrans to be part of,” says Lavinia.

You can choose to be a regular donor with a financial commitment you are comfortable with over time.

Donors become part of the Karinya Family, learning that their impact changes lives.

In 2025, 98 per cent of women Karinya House worked alongside made progress in at least one of their goal areas, with 80 per cent making progress in at least three areas, and 70 per cent feeling more empowered and with higher self-esteem.

Short-term, many women go on to live safely, receive critical health care, establish themselves as parents, birth and raise newborns, develop life skills, navigate key legal and visa challenges.

Longer-term, many women have gone on to live in the community, save for their future and their children’s future, return to study, have a career, break cycles, identify as feeling more empowered and independent, and parent their children.

Lavinia says the staff who attend former Karinya babies’ christenings, birthday parties and even graduations, pay tribute to the mother’s strength and agency over years and even decades.

And for those who want to engage with the Karinya Community in a more celebratory way, the annual charity luncheon always draws a crowd and is a much-loved event on the social calendar.

This year the Home. Hope. Horizon luncheon is taking place at Hotel Realm on Friday 22 May. It is always a meaningful event and newcomers will learn much of the work of this vital and much-loved local charity and how they can get involved.