108 Bargara Rd
Bundaberg East, Qld, 4670
By Tanya O'Shea, IMPACT Community Services Managing Director
Each May, Queensland marks Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month (DFVP Month) to raise community awareness of domestic and family violence.
The aim is to send a clear message that violence in families and homes is not and will not be tolerated.
This year IMPACT’s Intensive Family Support (IFS) team have shown their support for the Red Rose Foundation’s Red Bench Project.
The Red Rose Foundation is a national not for profit charity that works to end domestic violence throughout Queensland, and the red bench is a permanent reminder that domestic violence occurs within all communities, everywhere.
IMPACT is proud to be a supporter of this initiative and has recently installed a red bench in the 108 Bargara Road courtyard for people to see, use, and understand.
Handmade by the NDIS participants in Rob’s Shed, the red bench and accompanying plaque provide a visual reminder that violence not only happens everywhere, but that we as an organisation and a community are actively working to stop violence and conflict in Bundaberg.
In the State Government’s “Not Now, Not Ever” report it was recommended that individuals, community groups and the private sector work together to help prevent domestic and family violence and support those affected.
This means we need to actively implement a whole-of-community approach and be accountable for ourselves and our actions in the face of conflict and violence.
We need to question the behaviour, not ignore it.
Last week I wrote about the launch of the MATE Bystander Program at IMPACT, which is another way we are working to end domestic and family violence in our community.
As mentioned previously, the project recruits everyday locals and trains them to recognise conflict behaviour and use safe intervention methods to interrupt the cycle of violence.
This initiative has also been driven by our IFS team who are involved in conflict resolution on a daily basis.
The IFS team has been working with families in the Bundaberg region, who are experiencing multiple and/or complex needs who have children unborn to 18 years of age, for over three years.
The service delivers parenting support through tailored interventions to build the skills and capacity of parents and carers to safely nurture and protect their children, and refers to external supports in need.
It was our IFS support team that recognised rates of violence were increasing during COVID, and it’s the IFS team that continues to manage the repercussions of the local housing shortage in this space.
With this added pressure it’s more important than ever that we as a community educate ourselves on safe intervention methods, and become a voice for those that have been silenced.
We need to actively stand up and say no to violence.
It’s not welcome in our community, and it won’t be tolerated by our people.
To find out how you can “Be Someone Who Does Something”, phone IMPACT today on 4153 4233 and mention the MATE Bystander Program, or email your interest to mclarke@impact.org.au.
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