Last year, we had the privilege of meeting Anne Moore, recipient of the WA Seniors Award of the Year (Metro). For more than 35 years, Anne has dedicated her work life to supporting women and children escaping domestic violence at the Lucy Saw Centre.
Anne’s journey into this line of work is deeply personal. After a serious back injury left her hospitalised, she met a young woman who quietly shared that her injuries were caused by her husband. “That’s when I decided I was going to work in the field,” Anne recalls. “You need a voice. You need to talk about it. It won’t go away.”
It’s a message that has stayed with her and guides her work each day.
What began as a single refuge, the Lucy Saw Centre in the Perth metro areas has grown into a much-needed network of support services for women who need to escape domestic violence. Today, the centre includes three women’s refuges, the Safe at Home program, a mobile outreach service, counselling, and strong partnerships with police and child protection services. “We’re kind of a nice little hub of services,” Anne says. “Whatever’s needed at the time for our women, we will do.”
The scale of the work Anne and the centre do is significant and continues to grow. “In the last six months the Safe at Home program alone has seen over a thousand women trying to escape domestic violence,” Anne shares. Overall, the Lucy Saw Centre’s focus remains on preventing homelessness and helping women rebuild their lives safely. “We try to help them navigate the domestic violence issues and to find support in the community in a safe way.”
Anne highlights that for older women, finding safe accommodation can be particularly difficult, especially with the cost-of-living crisis putting added pressure on relationships and their ability to seek new financial independence. “It’s really hard for this group of women,” she explains.
“We do try and get them involved in their community, so they don’t feel as if they’re alone.”
Advocacy is a big part of the work too, whether that’s working alongside police, supporting women through court processes, or linking them with advocacy services like Advocare.
How to support the Lucy Saw Centre and Anne’s work
Although the sensitive nature of the work means volunteers can’t be directly involved, community support plays an important role. “We do get lots and lots of lovely support,” Anne says. “People reach out offering support or donations following our outreach talks, through our website, or even talk about leaving us something in their will, which is just amazing.” Every little bit helps and without doubt, is gratefully received.
As co-hosts of the 2025 WA Seniors Awards, Advocare was so pleased to see Anne’s dedication acknowledged in her award as metropolitan WA Senior of the Year.
The Lucy Saw Centre can be contacted on (08) 9527 6872 or visit https://cwsw.org.au/services/the-lucy-saw-centre/
