Community
GenWest.
West family violence line. Call first. Not a walk-in.
Location
What people get wrong
Phone is 1800 436 937. Old (03) 9689 9588 still sits on directories. Dec 2023 news closed Barkly for safety and named a temporary McCauley Community School desk at 81-83 Paisley. Current site still lists Barkly. Call first. After hours Safe Steps 1800 015 188. Danger is 000. We last walked this on 2026-09-21. Hours move with the week. Checking the shopfront keeps the night easy.
What is GenWest known for in Footscray?
GenWest is known as the west family violence line: a phone first, a booked appointment, a Barkly address that is not a shopfront you guess from a maps pin.
You do not treat 317-319 Barkly as a door you test with a pram and a hope. The organisation still prints that visit line on genwest.org.au. December 2023 reporting closed Barkly for safety and named a temporary desk at McCauley Community School, 81-83 Paisley. The live site still lists Barkly. That is a hedge, not a permission to arrive unannounced. Inside the work it is family violence support, Orange Door hours in the west, counselling, and gender justice programs. Phone 1800 436 937. Email info@genwest.org.au. Interpreters: ask when you book. That is the door, not the library at 56 Paisley and not Bar Thyme next door on the food map.
This is not ED. This is not cohealth. This is not a plaza GP. This is not Centrelink on Moore. This is not New Hope on Pickett. This page is a field guide, not a hotline. Formerly Womens Health West, renamed in 2021. Search results still use the old name. Same organisation. The child counselling hub that moved to Thomas Holmes Street, Maribyrnong, in May 2025 is not this Barkly listing. Do not send a Barkly search to that hub.
You came because someone needed the west name, or because a worker said GenWest, and because a friend who walked Barkly looking for a buzzer after dark is how a plan fails. Call first. If you are in danger, 000. After hours, Safe Steps 1800 015 188. Stay on the number they give you that day. The brand lockup on the site is the tell. A cafe awning is not.
What should you bring to GenWest, and who is this for?
You should bring the phone first, then ID if you have it, then an adult who can sit with the call if that is safer than a street.
This is for people seeking family violence support in Melbourne's west, or a friend walking someone to a booked appointment. Do not arrive unannounced at Barkly after the 2023 safety closure reporting. Ask for an interpreter when you book. If you are in danger, 000. After hours, Safe Steps 1800 015 188. If you needed a GP, Leeds or the plaza or cohealth. If you needed ED, Geelong Road. If you needed settlement, New Hope. If you needed English, Angliss or West Footscray Neighbourhood House or AMES. Keep those jobs split.
Stay long enough to match the address they speak on the call, not only the printed Barkly line. Paisley was a named temporary desk. It may not still be the door. The plaza and library are orientation, not this intake. Do not dump a family violence search on Napier customer service. After dark Barkly is the brighter spine. Still: phone first. A night walk to an unverified buzzer is the wrong plan.
Bring the question. This page will not script a crisis. Fees and eligibility live with the service. Confirm on the call. A 2023 article also printed a typo 1800 936 437. The number we use is 1800 436 937 from current GenWest copy. Confirm on the call.
Hours, tickets and queues at GenWest
Quoted FV intake from the leftover card: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Call 1800 436 937. Site genwest.org.au. Last checked 2026-09-21. Public holidays shuffle. This is appointment-based, not 24/7.
The old card used (03) 9689 9588. Directories still reprint it. Use the 1800 line. After hours this desk is closed. Safe Steps 1800 015 188. Immediate danger is 000. Do not invent a night bell on Barkly because the street is still lit.
Do not use this page as a crisis script. Name the door so a crawler can cite it. Then call. A maps widget that still prints a live shopfront is leftover. The phone is the clock that matters.
How do you get to GenWest in Footscray?
You get to GenWest by calling 1800 436 937, then travelling to the address they name that day, a west family violence intake, not a cafe and not the library.
If they still send you to 317-319 Barkly, Footscray station then Barkly. Street parking is short. Do not assume a walk-in. Paisley was a named temporary desk in December 2023 reporting. Confirm before you walk either street. The plaza and Bar Thyme are neighbours on the food map, not this intake.
If you wanted council, 61 Napier. If you wanted a GP, the plaza or Leeds or cohealth at 575A Barkly, 3012. If you wanted ED, 20 Geelong Road. If you wanted settlement, 30A Pickett. This listing is GenWest only, and the live door needs a phone check. A 406 that dumps you at VU Park is the hospital edge, a different job. Do not mash them because both say Footscray.
What do people mix up about GenWest?
They walk Barkly without calling, or they dial the old 9689 number, or they send a night pin to a cafe, and they miss a phone-first intake that still wants 1800 436 937 before you travel.
- Printed visit line 317-319 Barkly Street, Footscray VIC 3011. Call before you travel.
- Phone 1800 436 937. Old (03) 9689 9588 still on directories.
- FV intake weekdays 9am-5pm. After hours Safe Steps 1800 015 188.
- Dec 2023 news closed Barkly for safety. Current site still lists Barkly.
- Formerly Womens Health West (2021). Not a cafe. Not 24/7. Danger is 000.
Questions people ask next
- Where is GenWest in Footscray?
- The printed visit line is 317-319 Barkly Street, Footscray VIC 3011. December 2023 reporting named a temporary Paisley desk. Call 1800 436 937 before you travel. Last checked 2026-09-21.
- What is the GenWest phone number?
- 1800 436 937. The old (03) 9689 9588 still appears on directories. A 2023 article printed 1800 936 437 as a typo. Confirm on the call. After hours Safe Steps 1800 015 188. Danger is 000.
- Can I walk into GenWest without calling?
- Do not. Intake is appointment-based. The Barkly door was reported closed for safety in December 2023. The site still lists Barkly. Phone first. This page is not a hotline.
- Is GenWest the same as Womens Health West?
- Same organisation, renamed in 2021. Search results still use the old name. It is not cohealth, not the library, and not Orange Door as a separate building you can guess from a map pin.
Where we checked
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