I have shared information about this topic before and here is more as it is so important for women to leave abusive relationships.
Northern
Rivers Community Legal Centre receives $50 000 Community Sector
Banking grant for Walking Together program helping family violence
survivors regain financial independence.
WOMEN
who are prevented from leaving violent relationships in our region due
to economic and social dependence have just been issued with a get out
of jail card.
Northern
Rivers Community Legal Centre is one of 300 organisations to receive a
$50,000 Social Investment Grant from Community Sector Banking for an
innovative project designed to help family violence survivors regain
their financial independence.
The funds are to be
provided by Community Sector Banking, to fund a three day a week
advocacy service, Walking Together, for women who find themselves with
debts preventing them from moving on with their lives.
The
service will be funded for 12 months and will provide material for a
"procedures manual” that can be used by volunteers in community
organisations helping a potential 20 000 women escape violence across
the country.
Head of relations for Community Sector
Banking, James Barron, congratulated Northern Rivers Community Centre on
their strong application when the cheque was handed over this Thursday
in The Lismore Quad. The announcement coincided with Human Rights week
in the hope of educating the community about financial abuse.
"The
legal centres application was one of the best we received and really
does go to the core and purpose of what our social investment grants
program is all about,” he said.
Northern Rivers Community
Legal Centre has been in existence since 1996 and provides access to
quality legal information, advice, advocacy and education in order to
achieve social justice for all, including animal and environmental
protection.
In relation to domestic and family violence
(DFV) and homelessness, it provides help in liaising with creditors on
behalf of family violence victims, such as banks, energy and
telecommunications providers.
Acting Care Manager at the
centre, Hayley Foster said "80 per cent of women suffering from DFV
suffered economic and financial abuse. Assisting women with their
utilities and putting systems in place with service providers enabled
them to find safety.”
Aboriginal domestic violence
support worker Marie Anne Brown said many women leave "abusive
relationships with nothing and have not a clue as to how to pay a bill.”
"With more talk about it we make sure it does not remain a secret,” she said.
Community
Sector Banking is the not-for-profit banking specialist for more than
13,000 organisations; it's a joint venture between Bendigo Bank and the
Community 21 consortium of not-for-profit organisations.
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