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Helping families to recover and rebuild for better tomorrows.

Gifts of $2 or above are tax-deductible.

This Christmas please help us provide vital support so victims and survivors of family violence can escape abuse, relocate and begin the journey towards a better tomorrow.

Family violence in Australia is extraordinarily pervasive and is the leading cause of homelessness in our country.

For people like Kelly* and her son, who endured years of family violence perpetrated by her husband, our holistic range of services are life-saving (see Kelly’s story below).

Our Family Services provide women like Kelly with the practical support they need to break free from violence and stay safe. This can include organising emergency and ongoing accommodation, along with help to cover the costs of relocation like food, furniture and moving costs.

As survivors begin to heal and rebuild their lives, our supportive programs help them on the road to recovery. Our Beyond the Violence program offers separate and combined group sessions for adults and children to gain insight into the impacts of past violence and learn strategies to build new resilience and healthy relationships.

While our TRAK Forward program helps survivors heal through opportunities for therapeutic recovery, including art and play therapy, and initiatives like peer support groups.

With the support of people like you this Christmas, we can help more women and children break free from violence and start rebuilding their lives with dignity and safety.

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Kelly story

“When I finally said ‘I’ve got to get out’ Anglicare Victoria was fantastic. I couldn’t have done it without them.

– Kelly* (32) who is rebuilding her life with her son (7) after escaping years of life-threatening family violence.

Escaping family violence was a matter of life and death for Kelly and her son.

For Kelly, a survivor of extreme family violence, the possibility of her or her son being killed by her abusive partner Garret* was never far from her mind.

When their relationship began around ten years ago, Garret was charming and persuasive. But soon he began using drugs and his behaviour became controlling and aggressive. He’d verbally abuse and threaten Kelly and her son continuously, and took total control of the household finances.

“It was horrible,” Kelly recalls. “Everything from verbal assault to the most violent attacks. He made sure I had no money and would cut up my clothes so I couldn’t leave the house… No one should ever have to go through what I did.”

Kelly bravely tried several times to leave Garret, but without money or support, it was impossible to get safe accommodation for herself and her son.

Thankfully, Kelly met Becca, a Family Safety Contact Worker from Anglicare Victoria’s (AV’s) Family Services team, who helped Kelly make a plan to safely escape Garret’s violence.

As soon as Kelly walked out the door, Becca and the AV Family Services team were by her side providing vital support and practical help. “Anglicare were really, really fantastic,” says Kelly. “They helped get me out and moved me to a location where he can never find me.”

With a safe new home and a puppy on the way for Christmas, Kelly and her son are building a better tomorrow, free from violence. They’ve attended our Beyond the Violence program, where they worked in therapeutic groups to help them process their trauma. Kelly’s son also attends our TRAK Forward program where he works with one of AV’s Therapeutic Workers, using therapeutic play including art therapy to help him express the strong emotions he sometimes feels.

Please help support other women and children like Kelly and her son to escape violence and build a better tomorrow.

*Names and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy.

Together we can do something really good

700

Kids are in our care on any given night.

4,653

We help parents to keep families strong, safe and together.

1,013

We support survivors of domestic violence, improving their safety, wellbeing and independence.

3,700

Our financial counselling and literacy programs bring people back from the brink.

6,200

We supported people when they needed it with emergency food, clothing, financial aid and support services.

Help provide ongoing vital support and become a monthly donor today.