From the Executive Officer

As we approach Mother’s Day, it is easy to get caught up in the fun and festivities that many families enjoy.  Here at Emerge, we are acutely aware that the mums and children we are supporting want to celebrate but are too emotional, tense and often without the means to buy gifts or a special lunch.

Fortunately Emerge is supported by extraordinary people who give regularly and in different ways throughout the year. One such group is Impact which, as you will read, donated 60 Mother’s Days ‘Bags of Love’. We thank them enormously.

In this newsletter, you will also read about another way in which Impact is supporting our work and mothers who have fled family violence. It has funded an occasional childminding service at Moorabbin Magistrates Court.  The idea of this service grew from Recommendation 70 in the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence which urged that all magistrates’ courts provided adequate facilities for children and ensure that courts are “child friendly”.

It is now three years since the Royal Commission produced its report, making 227 recommendations to prevent family violence, keep women and children safe and supported, and hold perpetrators to account. The Victorian Government committed to implementing all recommendations, investing over $2.7 billion to support this change.

To date, 120 of the 227 recommendations have been honoured. These include the introducing of basic but essential services, like Flexible Support Packages, building new 24-hour refuges, and introducing safety hubs. Emerge is involved in many of the recommendations that have been funded, and continues to lend its expertise to shaping the reform agenda.

These next steps have a focus on linking services and listening and acting on the voices and experiences of women and children who have survived family violence.

I look forward to keeping you informed about what Emerge is doing to support the bigger picture of systemic change, as well as what we are doing in our region to ensure women and children have access to the services and assistance they need at the right time.

Paula Westhead

Executive Officer