Three years ago, we opened the doors to Protea Place Warwick. 💗 Today, we pause to remember a chapter of the Protea Place journey that challenged us, stretched us and ultimately reminded us why we...
Three years ago, we opened the doors to Protea Place Warwick. 💗
Today, we pause to remember a chapter of the Protea Place journey that challenged us, stretched us and ultimately reminded us why we do what we do.
Three years ago, we took a leap of faith and launched the Protea Place Warwick pilot — without government funding of our own to sustain it, but with an unwavering belief that women experiencing crisis in rural Queensland deserved access to the same support, dignity and opportunities as women anywhere else.
We knew it would be challenging. What we perhaps didn’t fully appreciate was just how difficult it would be to carry the financial responsibility of another service while also protecting the sustainability of our own.
Eventually, we faced an incredibly difficult decision: to bring the pilot to an end at the end of the 12 month pilot period.
It wasn't a decision made lightly. It was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make.
At the time, not everyone understood why we had to step away. And perhaps that is one of the hardest parts of doing work like this — sometimes decisions made to protect the bigger picture can be misunderstood.
But something incredibly powerful happened.
The Warwick community stood up and fought for its future themselves.
And that is something we will always be immensely proud of.
Because we didn’t just leave Warwick with a service. We left behind our model, our knowledge, our resources, our relationships, our learnings our hearts — and, most importantly, everything we had poured into creating something that could make a difference. We continued to lobby for funding for them behind the scenes which was successful with them being granted base funding in June 2025 🩷
Today, that work continues in the hands of a local community, under a new name, with people who are deeply committed to supporting vulnerable women in Warwick.
And we continue to lobby hard for the government investment that rural and regional women deserve.
Sometimes this work can feel like a misunderstood and thankless task. Sometimes doing what is right means making incredibly difficult decisions that others may not understand.
But three years on, we are incredibly proud.
Proud that we had the courage to give it a go.
Proud that we were willing to invest in a community that needed us.
Proud that when we could no longer carry the financial burden ourselves, we had the courage to step aside and inspire the community to take ownership.
And proud that the legacy of Protea Place Warwick remains strong.
Because ultimately, that is the whole reason Protea Place exists — to support vulnerable women, wherever they are.
Our mission has always been bigger than a building, a program or even an organisation.
It is about having the strength to give something a go when others might say it is too hard.
It is about believing that women in every community deserve hope, dignity, safety and a way forward.
Warwick will always be deeply embedded in our hearts and in the journey of Protea Place. 💗
Sometimes the greatest measure of success isn't what you keep — it's what you leave behind.
And we know that what we left behind in Warwick continues to make a difference for women for many years to come.
With love, pride and gratitude,
Protea Place Women’s Support Centre 💗