By Jonty Ralphsmith
Key stakeholders have expressed their endorsement of the recently established Viv’s Place in Dandenong.
The facility was officially opened on Friday 13 May with state planning minister Richard Wynne, minister for prevention of family violence Gabrielle Williams and then shadow housing minister Jason Clare all in attendance.
Viv’s Place is Australia’s first supported housing initiative for families and can house more than 60 women and 130 children across 60 apartments.
Wraparound support services including case management, children’s counselling, therapeutic support and on-site children’s group work help give the women a fresh start and break the cycle of abuse and neglect.
The family violence facility will accompany the Southern Melbourne area’s Orange Door network that has services in both Dandenong and Pakenham.
“This critical service means victim survivors don’t have to re-tell their story to multiple services and navigate multiple systems in times of great stress and trauma – instead putting the focus on support, when and where they need it,” Minister for the prevention family violence Gabrielle Williams said about the service.
Since opening last year, 16,500 people in the region have been assisted by the network in the region.
Upon hearing about the establishment of Viv’s Place, Springvale Benevolent Society president Joe Rechichi said: “It’s damn good news.”
Speaking broadly about the issue of homelessness, Mr Rechichi said stability and permanence is crucial for people to get back on their feet and praised the wrap-around services the facility will offer.
“Sometimes all people need is someone to listen to their uses. We need to get them on a talking basis so you listen to their concerns and then ask them if they’re okay,” Mr Rechichi said.
“Housing provides a fresh start for someone that you wouldn’t get by just putting them in a hotel room for a couple of days.
Some people feel so embarrassed they won’t even ask, it’s really hard to break the little barrier. You just have to give them a little bit of assurance that someone in the community will care about them.”
The City of Greater Dandenong has the highest rates of homeless in the state and fleeing family violence is a significant factor causing homelessness.
While there is wraparound assistance, nearby services including schools, libraries and crisis accommodation make it an ideal location for the facility.
“What’s included are things we’ve identified as being really important for women and children to lift themselves out of these situations and provide a more positive life for themselves and become thriving members of the community,” said acting general manager of Keep Housing Jesse Grubb.
“Part of the perspective we gained was from people with lived experience who wanted to create an environment that has a sense of home and community.
“Our aim is to make their experience in the homeless system as short as possble for children in particular so they don’t replicate the pattern in their adult life – the way to do that is by providing permanent housing so families can grow and work towards their other goals.”
The family violence incident rate in 2021 1602 per 100,000 of population, more than 16 per cent higher than the Victorian rate of 1364 per 100,000.
Family violence and support network in the southeast, Wayss, welcomed the initative given the increasing difficulty for people fleeing hostile situations.
“It’s great to see further investment in creative responses like Viv’s Place that support victim survivors of family violence to find a safe affordable place to live,” WAYSS chief executive Wayne Merritt said.
“Once the facility opens Wayss will be involved in determining which victim-survivors of family violence will be referred there and how those referrals will be managed. Representatives from Wayss have participated in the group that has been designing this process.
“In this challenging environment we have needed to place and keep women and children who have fled violence in temporary motel accommodation for extended periods due to a lack of alternatives.
“Viv’s Place is a great initiative and Wayss looks forward to working with Launch Housing and Uniting to support families who have escaped unsafe homes to recover and move forward with their lives.
“Like all services that support people impacted by family violence, Wayss is finding it increasingly difficult to find safe and stable accommodation for families made homeless as a result of family violence in the current environment where private rental in the south eastern suburbs is more scarce and unaffordable than ever and waiting times for social housing can be lengthy. ”
A resident from the municipality, Katie – who would prefer her surname withheld – has experienced homelessness and believes the provision of such facilities is critical for people to get back on their feet.
Katie remembers spending her first night homeless in 2017 on the blustery Frankston foreshore, sheltered underneath the pier on a Saturday night. She remembers rowdy crowds discarding cigarette butts and other rubbish between the wooden panels of the pier which landed all around her as she buried herself in the sand.
As a mother to a teenage son who had also fled the abusive household, Katie was hamstrung as many shelters had a strict no-male policy.
So she turned to drugs.
“I did it to try to stay awake so I would not go to sleep and be in danger of men,” she said.
“I was being harrassed when I slept, whether it be dickheads going passed, someone moving me along or someone that recognised me – it was a pretty shit feeling.
“This needs to be brought up more as a community issue, it’s not the individual’s fault.”
Her story is one example of how sleeping rough can engender much greater issues that would not surface if people had the certainty and stability of housing.
The long-term fatigue and sometimes practical difficulty of accessing services can further prevent people from getting back on track, she said as she praised the wraparound services Viv’s Place will provide.
“People think that by giving someone a home it fixes it: it doesn’t,” she said.
“Having the services takes away the pressure or anxiety of how in the hell you’re going to get back on your feet and the logistics of it.
“People that are homeless are feeling very lonely and very vulnerable and a facility like this is well overdue.”
