Gaining access to family violence services will be greatly supported in Mitchell Shire an Orange Door access point to be established here.
Victorian Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Gabrielle Williams announced the new access point will help people speak directly to workers from specialist family violence, child and family, Aboriginal and men’s services.
The Orange Door is a free service for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and families who need extra support with the care of children.
Council has advocated strongly for such services and has been working closely with The Orange Door to establish in our Shire.
To coincide with the announcement, Council is working in partnership with Victoria Police, Nexus Primary Health, Lower Hume PCP, Family Care, Women’s Health Goulburn North East, North Central Review and Kilmore District Hospital to deliver the Respect Each Other: Call It Out campaign.
The campaign, which will run from Monday 15 June until Monday 29 June, will be focused on continued calls to localise family violence support and steps for people to take when a home becomes unsafe.
Mitchell Shire is ranked at number 10 out of 79 Victorian Councils for family violence incidents.
Council, community and service provider partners are working to reduce the alarming rates of family violence throughout the region and will continue to strongly advocate for improved mental health and family support service to all levels of government
Council has been advocating to both the State and Federal government for increased mental health and family violence support services for the Shire. Council was also represented in Canberra last year and led a Federal Election campaign which strongly highlighted the need for more specialist services to prevent vulnerable residents from the surrounding area from travelling up to two hours for help.
Council supports the 16 Days of Activism campaign each year and took the lead on the first ever Mitchell Shire Community Walk to End Violence which shut down the main street of Kilmore in December.
The 16 Days of Activism Campaign was part of a united stance with North Central Review, Victoria Police, Nexus Primary Health, Women’s Health Goulburn North East, Goulburn Integrated Family Violence Network, Respect Victoria, Lower Hume Primary Care Partnership, Kilmore and District Hospital, and Seymour Health, to showcase the strengthened approach to a Mitchell free from violence.
In June 2019, community leaders, practitioners, organisations and Council joined forces for a Family Violence Roundtable to plan for the future and take action.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, the following services are available to help:
