Emerge Stories

One in three Australian women experience family violence.  The signs can remain well hidden but offering support to a friend or colleague can make all the difference. Sometimes there are clear signs of abuse, but often the signs are subtle, beginning with a feeling that ‘something is wrong’. Controlling behaviour, jealousy and humiliation are often signs of family violence, as Kylie –  who was recently supported by Emerge – ...

In just over six weeks, Victorians will be once again voting in the state election. Here at Emerge, we are calling on all parties to commit to funding the many recommendations that emerged from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, to have policies that enable everyone to have a secure, affordable and safe home, and to fund those policies effectively; to fund homelessness prevention services like Emerge, and to expand free legal services ...

Jessica Woller is the Manager of Integrated Family Services at Emerge. She looks after the Arts Therapy and the Family Violence Case Management teams at Emerge. We talked to her about the rewards and demands of working in a refuge. “Working in refuge is working with women in crisis, which means we are starting from scratch in every sense. One aspect that can be unexpected is that we are often helping women who may be grieving for the loss of a ...

Talia is from Sudan. She has two children and moved to Australia three years on a spousal visa. Her marriage ended violently, with Talia running for her life. After fleeing her husband ended the visa leaving Talia homeless, scared, alone with her children, and without a permanent visa. Fortunately, she was put in touch with Emerge, and last year spent more than three months in its safe refuge. While Talia’s immediate headache and anxiety has ...

Emerge is starting an occasional childcare service at Moorabbin Magistrates Court to enable mothers to finalise legal matters without having their children in court with them. The service has been funded by Impact, and will involve the Victoria Police and the magistrates’ court. The need for the court support service was identified during consultations with the Bayside Peninsula Family Violence Partnership, according to Executive Officer, ...

Emerge supporters have the chance to donate to making sure every mum and child is offered a day of hope and cheer in the lead up to Christmas.  The annual festive party is a highlight of the calendar where children and their mums come together to celebrate in a safe and happy environment, enjoy a delicious lunch and take part in an afternoon filled with games and other treats. “It is a very special day, a day when kids can be kids and mums ...

Emerge and Kingston City Council have embarked on a new partnership in 2018, and one which has potential to break new ground in Victoria in supporting children about to start kindergarten or in early years of primary school. Little Sparkz to Bright Minds builds on a successful pilot program run by Emerge for infants to 36 months which highlighted the need for something similar for four to seven-year-old children. What sets the program apart is ...

  A hot meal awaits all families fleeing family violence at Emerge Women and Children’s Support Network, thanks to a partnership with FareShare. Most families flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs and perhaps a tiny backpack. They are confused and frightened so the chance to sit down to a warm, nourishing meal is important to help them settle in to new surroundings. According to Executive Officer Paula Westhead, the warm meals ...

“The myths and misunderstandings that surround family violence hold us back from ending this problem” Paula Westhead, Emerge’s Executive Office says. According to Paula, survivors’ stories help to unravel some of the misunderstandings. One myth is that violent men are ‘monsters’ and cannot control themselves, yet violent men can appear loving and caring and are often not violent in other situations. “We recently supported Eboni who ...

There is no running away from the fact that family violence is the single biggest cause of homelessness in Victoria. More than one third of women accessing homelessness services do so because they’re fleeing family violence. Poverty and financial hardship are issues for 32% of women escaping family violence. Each year in August, Emerge supports Homelessness Week as it shines a light on the issue of homelessness. We know how complex the ...