By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A new welcoming hub for family violence services in Dandenong and the South East is set to open its ‘orange door’ today (Tuesday 9 November).
The state’s 12th Orange Door Network will be a “game-changer” for the region, says Dandenong MP and Prevention of Family Violence Minister Gabrielle Williams.
The bright, warmly hued hub in central Dandenong is expecting about 1000 referrals a month.
It will bring together 148 full-time equivalent staff from a suite of family violence and family wellbeing services under the one roof.
This was a key recommendation of the recent State Royal Commission into Family Violence – to stop services working in “silos”, to catch families from falling through cracks.
Under this system, victims won’t have to tell their story more than once.
It also relieves them from navigating the complex maze of services, Ms Williams says.
“We’re ensuring families can access all the help they need to rebuild and recover through the one door because we know navigating multiple services can be hard – especially in times of great stress and trauma.
“These different workforces are learning from each other, working in a way to ensure holistic care and tailored care.
“The information sharing is the greatest enabler.”
The hub combines services from Anglicare, Dandenong and District Aborigines Co-Operative, Uniting, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Wayss and the State Government.
They provide crisis assistance, help for families under stress, risk assessments and safety planning.
Long-term support is also offered, such as case management, financial counselling and legal assistance.
Inside the building’s orange door, there are no sterile, forbidding offices but local floral imagery and Aboriginal floral names on doors and glass.
A glass wall states ‘welcome’ in about 20 different languages such as Punjabi, Farsi, Hindi, Spanish, Filipino, Somali, Cantonese and Aboriginal – reflecting the city’s cultural diversity.
There are sensory spaces for young people, pantries of hot and cold meals, and a chill-out kitchen/dining area for staff.
Crucially, a remote courtroom link will be provided at the hub so survivors don’t have to front a courthouse.
The all-encompassing CCTV security and duress buttons are discreetly embedded through the building.
In the latest 12-month crime stats, there were about 10,000 police call-outs for family incidents across Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia Shire – about 200 a week.
While general crime was reportedly down during Covid lockdowns, family violence was up about 20 per cent.
The next crucial step is awareness and cultural change, says Ms Williams. Research found gendered inequality was a key driver of family violence.
“We have to create more equal societies to have a hope of seeing family violence end.”
The Orange Door is being promoted across the region’s diverse ethnic communities through an multicultural advisory group, online forums and dedicated workers.
GPs and child-and-maternal-health nurses are also being encouraged to make referrals to the hub.
So far at other Orange Doors, there’s also been reportedly a growing number of self-referrals walking in from the street.
“The biggest measure of success is if people access this themselves,” the Dandenong hub’s manager Shelley Mullens said.
Further Orange Door ‘access points’ will open in Pakenham later this year and Cranbourne in 2022.
The Orange Door network hub is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Details: orangedoor.vic.gov.au.
