Wellbeing & Community Hub
Trish Lloyd
FAMILY VIOLENCE SUPPORT OVER THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS
While many of us are looking forward to end-of-year celebrations, this time can lead to increased incidents of family violence and increased demand for specialist family violence services.
Support for those experiencing family violence is still available during the holidays:
- Safe Steps (1800 015 188) – provides 24-hour statewide family violence support
- 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – provides 24-hour sexual assault and family violence information, counselling and support
- The Orange Door – supports families experiencing family violence and families who need extra support with the care of children
- Kids Helpline (1800 551 800) – provides 24-hour counselling for young people aged 5 to 25
- What’s OK At Home? – a website for children and young people aged 10 to 17
- headspace – provides access to counselling services for Victorian government secondary school students.
Support for members of diverse communities includes:
- Djirra (1800 105 303) – offers phone and face-to-face legal, emotional and cultural support from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, for Aboriginal people experiencing family violence
- InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence (1800 755 988) – offers specialist family violence support from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, for migrant and refugee women
- Rainbow Door (1800 729 367) – free service by text, phone and email from 10 am to 5 pm daily, for LGBTIQA+ people and allies
- No to Violence (1300 766 491) – works with and helps men who use family violence
- WIRE (Women’s Information and Referral Exchange) (1300 134 130) – free support, referrals and information by phone, web chat and email, from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, for all Victorian women, non-binary and gender-diverse people.
Community Hub
How do you and your family spend time together?
Setting time aside to have family meetings is one way to connect and spend quality time with one another.
Family meetings are regular get togethers, with the family, to ‘check in’ on how everyone is feeling, discuss important issues, and review and plan for the coming week.
The goals of the weekly family meeting are to help you communicate better, bring everyone closer together, and to have some fun.
They help to teach children important life skills, reinforce the family culture and values, build family unity and provide opportunities to communicate and solve problems.
Top Tips
1. Make meetings regular – even if they are just a quick ‘check-in’ for everyone to share how they are feeling or what they have going on.
2. Let your children run the meeting and create a list of topics for discussion that you all contribute to.
3. Use a set of questions to get everyone talking. e.g. How do you all think we are going this week? What is working well? What could we work on and do better?
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Cycling for Children Classic Tour 2023
This Christmas we’re asking you to think of a mate who could do with your support and invite them to join you on The Classic Tour 19-21 May 2023. Get your group together and make a weekend of it.
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Building confidence in your daughter
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Play Learn Grow
Play Learn Grow – subscribe to receive free tips from early childhood experts.
Play Learn Grow is a free text message program which supports parents and carers of children aged two and three with their child’s wellbeing, learning and development at home.
Developed by the Victorian Government in partnership with early childhood parenting experts, the program provides parents and carers with practical information, advice and support, as well as fun and easy activity ideas to do at home.
Participants will receive three personalised text messages a week, developed by early childhood education experts. Text messages will cover reading, playing, talking, and self-care, and will be available in six languages – English, as well as Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Simplified Chinese and Korean from April.
Participants can opt-in and opt-out at any time. Text PLAY to 0428 606 027 to subscribe – it’s free!
Find out more at www.vic.gov.au/play-learn-grow-text-message-program.