Doncare expands support for victims of Family Violence
NewsSince 2007, the DAWN mentoring program has been primarily funded by Manningham City Council to provide support to women recovering from the impacts of family violence within the municipality. Thanks to a Community Wellbeing grant from The Ian Potter Foundation, Doncare is expanding the DAWN program to support women in the cities of Whitehorse, Maroondah, Boroondara, Knox and Banyule.
The DAWN Mentoring Program is designed to improve the safety, confidence and community connectedness of women who have experienced violence, through mentoring, social support and assistance with practical issues.
Across Australia, 1 in 4 women have experienced violence by an intimate partner, with this being the number one risk factor contributing to disease in Australian women aged 18-44. The City of Manningham is not immune from family violence. The number of family violence incidents attended by police in Manningham in 2017-2018 increased 8% from the previous year. In the Eastern Region, there has been a 30% increase since 2013 in formal referrals for family members affected by family violence.
As a result of these trends, there has been growing pressure on Doncare to expand its capacity to support women and children affected by family violence, both within Manningham and across the broader Eastern Region.
Expanding our reach and offering extended therapeutic and practical support will assist more women and children to both recover and thrive after incidents of family violence. Not only does the additional funding from the Ian Potter foundation afford us the opportunity to expand service delivery, our volunteer mentors will now be able to spend an extended period of time with vulnerable women"
Doncare CEO, Doreen Stoves AM PSM JP.
By strengthening the capacity of vulnerable women to improve family functioning, they are better able to protect and care for their children whist at the same time, improving their financial, social and emotional wellbeing.
My Doncare specialist family violence counsellor recognised that I needed some long term practical and emotional support and I was connected with a DAWN mentor. She was a volunteer who had been trained to support women recovering from the trauma associated with intimate partner abuse.
For over a year, we caught up weekly for coffee. Sometimes we’d go for a walk in a local park. She encouraged me and listened, renewing my faith in people and gave me hope for the future. Even though I had a counsellor, this relationship was different. It was so reassuring to know that I had someone to visit me every week. Just knowing she was there to support me if something happened, like having to attend court. Obtaining an intervention order is a lengthy and stressful process. I always became so overwhelmed and nervous but she would come with me and support me at the Magistrates courtCatherine, a client of the DAWN program
Doncare is currently recruiting volunteers to be trained as new mentors. Training will commence in late February in Doncaster.
I have been a DAWN volunteer for nearly two years and have found the program to be rewarding and challenging. The women I have worked with have appreciated having a friend to turn to, to either share a problem or just shoot the breeze and knowing there is someone they can count on.”
Michelle, DAWN volunteer
If you are interested in becoming a mentor please contact the DAWN coordinator via email or call Doncare on 9856 1500. Find out more about the role and download the position description here.