By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Dandenong family-violence support service for migrant women warns it may close due to a lack of funding.
Wellsprings for Women chair Janet Cribbes says its case management service needs $330,000 to continue supporting more than 100 women and families.
The service expanded with extra Covid grant funding in 2020. This was in response to a growing need for support in a region with the highest rate of reported family violence in Victoria.
But funds such as JobKeeper are set to dry up in coming weeks.
Ms Cribbes says the Wellsprings service provides “culturally appropriate” support for migrant women who face the added barriers of language, lack of familiarity with services and economic disadvantage.
Its service of just five staff was “trusted” – providing more than $11 of value for every funding dollar, Ms Cribbes said.
“It provides so much good for so little money – not just for the women themselves but the families. We find the kids don’t go out and get into trouble, for instance.”
Wellsprings’ welcoming women-only environment with a range of programs and services felt like “family” to its clients.
“This is a really big thing for a person at their most vulnerable – to feel comfortable.
“It’s the hardest thing to ask for help, even more so in a foreign country with language and cultural barriers.
“(Wellsprings) gives them the discretion they need which is not the case if they were attending a dedicated family violence service.”
Ms Cribbes said agencies often referred women with “critical” family violence experiences to Wellsprings.
“People who go to Wellsprings feel a space of not being understood and accepted, not judged.
“It lets them work things out in a gentle sort of way.”
A significant number of migrant and refugee women tell Wellsprings staff that they “are not quite ready to leave” their homes.
“Often they perceive the alternative to staying as worse.
“We support them to look after their kids, look after themselves and keep themselves safe.”
Last week, Wellsprings spoke out on the need for the soon-to-open Orange Door family-violence services network to cater for Greater Dandenong’s multicultural diversity.
Ms Cribbes said Orange Door risked being too “mainstream” to reach migrant and refugee women.
“Wellsprings is advocating for a diverse family violence service system that offers migrant and refugee women the options to access the service that suits their needs and supports the choices they make.”
In 2019-’20, there were 1900 Greater Dandenong ‘affected family members’ listed on Magistrates’ Court intervention orders.
Police reported more than 2700 family violence incidents in Greater Dandenong – more than 50 a week.
In the same period, there were 231 Ambulance Victoria incidents in the region and nearly 100 emergency department visits at Dandenong Hospital related to family violence.
