The Sisterhood Foundation has welcomed two new charities to its portfolio, Catherine House and Lou’s Place. Both organisations support women in crisis who are navigating issues such as domestic and family violence and homelessness.
The decision to provide funding to Catherine House and Lou’s Place was informed by findings from the Women Deserve Better report, produced by the Sisterhood Foundation in partnership with Monash University in 2025. The research found Australian women want more support for issues related to social determinants of health.
Catherine House and Lou’s Place support women experiencing some of the major areas of unmet need identified in the research, including experiences of violence and trauma, mental health conditions, homelessness and housing insecurity.
Partnering with these two charities also fulfils the Sisterhood Foundation’s commitment to invest an additional $1 million this financial year to hear, acknowledge and address the unique health and wellbeing challenges facing Australian women and girls.
The new partnerships expand the Sisterhood Foundation’s national footprint and bring the total number of charity partners in its portfolio to twelve.
Funding for the two charities will focus on updating systems to strengthen their ability to support women in need. For Catherine House, the Sisterhood Foundation will fund an ambitious project to revolutionise its intake system to ensure they respond to every woman who calls Catherine House. If successful, this new intake model has the potential to scale and be adopted by similar services across the country.
Sisterhood Foundation Chair and Managing Director of Wesfarmers Health Emily Amos said, “Expanding the Sisterhood Foundation’s charity partner portfolio allows us to deepen our impact and respond to the issues that matter most to Australian women.
“It’s through the generosity of people across our business, like customers who donate at their local Priceline Pharmacy, that the Foundation is able to support organisations like Catherine House and Lou’s Place as they respond to the complex challenges faced by women and girls every day. By enabling our partners to build stronger systems and capability, the Sisterhood Foundation helps more women access the care, safety and support they need, when they need it most,” she said.
Since its inception in 2011, the Sisterhood Foundation has raised more than $13.7 million as part of its mission to hear, acknowledge and address the unique health issues impacting Australian women and girls.
About Catherine House
Founded in 1988, Catherine House is South Australia’s only homelessness and recovery service for women. At Catherine House, women experiencing homelessness across South Australia can access support including crisis and longer-term accommodation. Catherine House walks alongside women to address the immediate issues created by homelessness and assists women to plan a future with housing and financial security and build purposeful lives.
Director of Catherine House Julie Duncan said, “We are delighted to join the Sisterhood Foundation through our new partnership. Together, we will establish a new Gateway Service to reach and support more women in preventing or working towards ending their homelessness. This new service will be truly life-changing for women who don’t have a safe place to call home.”
About Lou’s Place
Lou’s Place is a daytime drop-in centre in Redfern in Sydney that supports women who have experienced significant trauma throughout their lives and are often navigating challenges such as homelessness, domestic and family violence, financial hardship, and social isolation.
Lou’s Place CEO Amanda Greaney said, “As CEO of Lou’s Place, I am deeply grateful for the Sisterhood Foundation’s partnership and commitment to strengthening organisations that support women. This investment in our capacity will help us build the systems and infrastructure needed to grow sustainably, allowing Lou’s Place to support more women experiencing homelessness, domestic and family violence well into the future.”