Whangarei Art Museum staff are calling on the community to donate to a group of people who sometimes don't find the Christmas season a time of goodwill.
Whangarei's two women's refuge centres, Tryphina House and Te Puna o Te Aroha, will be the recipients of donations and gifts left atthe Christmas tree in the art museum.
The museum has been a strong supporter of the centres. Next March it will host a charity fundraising fashion extravaganza, the proceeds of which will be shared between the women's refuge centres for the second year in a row.
Emergency and social service organisations recognise that Christmas is a high stress time of year for vulnerable families.
In 12 months to the end of June this year, the Tryphina refuge's two safe houses provided safety for 121 residential women and their children.
Over the same period, community clients - those with non-residential needs - rose from 445 women and their children to 481 women and their children. Callouts by police to domestic incidents rose from 382 to 570.
Last week Police and Women's Refuge urged Northland families at high risk of domestic violence during the festive season to implement "safety plans" to help prevent abuse with 41 families already signed up.
