Glenfield House opens doors as a safe haven for homeless women in Sydney’s southwest
An empty aged care property has been transformed into safe and welcoming housing for women experiencing homelessness in southwestern Sydney.
Glenfield House has officially opened the doors of its ‘meanwhile use’ project by Homes NSW, Women’s Community Shelters and Hume Community Housing.
For Chloe Barton, co-founder and recruitment director at Impact Advising, Glenfield House represents far more than bricks and mortar.
Raised by a single mother who endured family and domestic violence, Ms Barton experienced first-hand the instability and fear of living without a safe home.
For Chloe Barton, Glenfield House represents far more than bricks and mortar. Images: Supplied.
“I grew up raised by a single mum, it was myself and my younger sister,” she said.
“My mum’s relationships both with my father and then relationships after my mum and dad split up were quite volatile and violent.
“Frequent violence was in our homes resulted in my mum needing to leave the family home and quite often having really insecure housing options to us.”
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Chloe Barton and her mother
Chloe Barton and her younger sister Hayley
Ms Barton said this meant they would spend nights on friend’s sofas or in hotels.
“It was quite a chaotic environment growing up and unfortunately my sister and I witnessed my mum being a victim of domestic and family violence within our own home,” she said.
Mr Barton said her lived experience translates into why Glenfield House is so important for others.
“I experienced first-hand the instability and fear that comes with living in an unsafe environment where family violence is present,” she said.
“A service like Glenfield House and the wider support that Women’s Community shelters offers really does give a safe environment for women to be able to access support and be able to leave for their own safety and the safety of their children if they are mothers.”
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Chloe Barton and her younger sister Hayley
Chloe Barton and her mother
Ms Barton said the work of Women’s Community shelters and specifically the environment of Glenfield House would have made a huge difference to herself, her little sister and her mum, in giving her an option to leave which she unfortunately did not have all the time.
Ms Barton and her team at Impact Advising joined volunteers from a range of businesses to help assemble furniture for the project, turning empty rooms into spaces of comfort and dignity.
Chloe Barton and her Impact Advising colleague Erin building furniture at Glenfield House
“It was a real privilege to be asked to volunteer and help build the furniture – we walked in and there was a mountain of flat pack furniture ready to be built,” she said.
Ms Barton said being able to support the team at Women’s Community Shelters to create the spaces at Glenfield House and so that each woman would also have their own space independently in their rooms.
“The whole environment of the shared space being such a warm and welcoming environment it was a great thing to be a part of,” she said.
Glenfield House officially opened its doors on September 15, 2025. Image: Cassandra Hannagan.
Glenfield House Official Opening. Image: Cassandra Hannagan.
Glenfield House also offers communal spaces. Image: Cassandra Hannagan.
Glenfield House provides 28 safe beds for older women with refurbished bedrooms, communal loungerooms, new kitchens, laundries and bathrooms plus facilities for onsite specialised support to help older women at risk of homelessness or to rebuild their lives.
The government and community partnership delivers ‘meanwhile use’ housing, repurposing vacant or under-utilised properties into transitional housing accommodation.
The project was made possible with the $446,450 Labor Government’s Homelessness Innovation Fund and backed by NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson and NSW Minster for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully.
These changes followed the NSW Government’s historic $6.6 billion investment in social housing and homelessness to deliver more homes and fund specialist homelessness solutions, announced in 2024.
