About Us/Organisational

Our vision:

To effectively and appropriately achieve safe and independent lifestyles for women in the target groups, free from the fear of violence and abuse

Our practice principles:

• Women and their children have the right to live free from the effects of violence and abuse.
• Women and their children are entitled to the opportunity to have their basic needs met.
• We recognise that the women who use our services are capable and resourceful within the limits of their situations.
• We endeavour to act on injustice where it affects our clients.
• We work as part of a community network and seek to be influential within that network.
• We endeavour to assist clients to become more powerful in their situations by working with each client as an individual, assisting them according to their individual needs and particular situation.
• We prioritise addressing needs in relation to violence against women, homelessness, poverty and social marginalisation (such as women with mental illness, substance abuse problems, etc.)
• We provide a service that is based on a feminist interpretation of women’s position within our society, whereby we recognise the discrimination, oppression and abuse that women suffer.

Services

Our service is staffed by qualified professionals with experience in counselling,

We can provide the following services :

Crisis Support

We provide a safe and free women friendly space where women can explore and discuss options. We offer crisis and short term counselling. You can phone or visit us to talk about housing, relationships, domestic violence, health, financial issues, material assistance, or anything you need information about. You can come to us to talk about anything, even if you are not sure where to start. Appointments are not necessary

Information, Referral & Resources

We provide information, referral and options to enable women to make informed choices. We have a range of information that is relevant to women's lives. We can make referrals to relevant services. Practical & financial assistance is also available.

Young Mothers

We have a specific support service for women under 25 years old who are parenting or pregnant. We work with young mothers to strengthen their parenting skills so they can take control of their lives and move towards self-sufficiency and independence. We offer emotional & practical support including outreach and home based services. Our playgroups & social groups provide an opportunity to meet other young mums. We also have 4 units of long term and medium term accommodation.

Groups

We run a variety of groups and workshops including domestic violence support groups and self empowerment groups. In our groups, women have the opportunity to:

meet other women & share common experiences
receive emotional support, information and practical help
explore their situation and make decisions in a supportive, non-judgemental atmosphere
learn about practical tools of empowerment for making positive and permanent changes in their life.
All our groups are free and are run during the day.

Intensive Family Support

Our early intervention and prevention program supports families to protect children. Outreach workers provide intensive support to clients with children 0-18 years who are ‘at risk’. We work with you to build resilience, strengthen your family and reduce risk. We provide practical outreach or home based services and work collaboratively with a range of community and government services.

If you are not sure that we can help with your needs, then please telephone us on (07) 4051 9366 and ask