Emergency financial relief

Emergency financial relief for women and children fleeing family violence

Sally became involved with our Peninsula Family Violence Program because she feared for the safety of herself and her little boy. Her former partner Mark - from whom she had separated due to his increasingly abusive and erratic behaviour - had turned up unexpectedly at the house she and her son had moved into, yelling abuse at her and angrily smashing the rear view mirrors on her car.

Sally called the police, and Mark fled. The next day she contacted our Program. The first thing our workers did was organise payment for repairs to Sally's rear view mirrors from our Family Violence Emergency Relief Fund. This meant Sally was able to drive to work and retain her employment; and also that she could escape the property if Mark reappeared.

Unfortunately, this happened. Some weeks later Mark returned to her property and attempted to break in, in the process breaking the locking mechanism on her garage door. He also physically assaulted Sally as she tried to escape the property with her terrified little boy.

Neighbours called the police, and this time they apprehended Mark. Yet things had escalated to such a degree that it was unsafe for Sally and her little boy to remain in the house.

The Emergency Relief Fund paid for emergency accommodation for several nights before they flew to another state to re-establish their lives; for Sally to move her belongings from the house to her new home; and for Sally pay for her garage door to be repaired so that she could get her bond back from the real estate agent.