Claire Hooper to headline Orange's White Tie Ball, a major fundraiser for The Orchard

Head of Community Services Penny Dordoy said Housing Plus was keen to build on The Orchard's first year of operation, during which it had been in high demand.

Ms Dordoy was speaking at the launch of the 2022 White Tie Ball, the major fundraiser for The Orchard which will be staged on May 21 and is backed by major sponsors the Central Western Daily and the Orange Ex-Services' Club.

"We've been impacted by COVID, also impacted by floods and by bushfires and by housing prices and a lot of things have been coming our way," Ms Dordoy said.

"The Orchard supports women and children in Orange but also across NSW, we don't only support people who stay in The Orchard but also women in their thousands who are experiencing domestic violence. Like everybody in the domestic violence sector, it has been a tough couple of years."

Ms Dordoy said being able to provide more resources to support women was one of the goals.

"More councillors, different types of therapies, some long-term support to complement all of the things that are already happening and all of the things the community already does for us.

"We can only do so much, we need specialised counsellors that are dedicated to trauma."

According the latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, cases of domestic violence have been relatively stable in Orange for the past two years but are almost double the state average.

For the 12 months to December 2021, there were 315 domestic violence assault incidents compared to 264 in the same reporting period for 2020 and 315 in the 2019 period.

Cases in the Central West have increased by 2.2 per cent in the past five years and are 40 per cent higher than the state average.

Chair of The Orchard's fundraising committee Julianne Potts said the goal for this year's ball was to bypass last year's total which was $80,000.

"The funds that we raise, every single cent goes towards the women and children of The Orchard, for all their resources," Ms Potts said explaining that included some counselling services but also everyday items like clothing.

"If they're supported well when they leave ... they regain their strength and empowerment and are able to move on with their children to a safe life and future

"Some women and children will turn up and they literally have only the clothes on their back.

"Our committee is about making sure they have clothes, kitchen stuff, linen, all those practical things. Clothes to go to work, school bags, all the practical things."

This year's White Tie Ball will feature comedienne Claire Hooper, a regular co-host on Ten's The Project, and be MC'ed by stand-up comedienne Lizzy Hoo with music by local DJ Ben Chiarella.

Tickets will be on sale from Wednesday and can be purchased online from Housing Plus - White Tie Ball 2022 Tickets (123tix.com.au) Tickets are priced at $140 you can make bookings as individuals, or you can organise a table of 8.

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