Refuge Victoria staff never shy away from a challenge. Ever committed to growing and improving our service, when we see an issue, we set about resolving it. Here are some ways we did that in 2023-24.
Aboriginal cultural safety and inclusiveness
This year, Refuge Victoria engaged Wanyaari Aboriginal Consultancy Services to conduct a desktop review to address service gaps for Aboriginal communities by fostering a culturally sensitive and inclusive environment.
The review aimed to enhance cultural safety and inclusivity for clients and staff and ensure our services are tailored to the diverse needs and cultural practices of Aboriginal people.
The Wanyaari review recommended including six Aboriginal holistic healing principles into our processes and practices:
1: Self-determination: Aboriginal people design, implement and evaluate healing programs.
2: Safety as a priority: Supports be culturally safe, reflect the values and traditional wisdom of Aboriginal communities, and include the development of culturally safe risk assessments and safety plans.
3: Culture, Country and Community are embedded in healing: Aboriginal people are supported to learn about and develop community connections.
4: The past impacts the present: Acknowledge and understand the grief and loss that stems from historical violence inflicted on First Nations people, and the resulting complex trauma.
5: Healing is trauma-informed: Empower people to understand the impact of trauma and distress resulting from unresolved and accumulated trauma.
6: Resilience and hope make a difference: Promote the affirmation of positive cultural identity and pride in Aboriginal people’s resilience and cultural identity.
With the assistance of Wanyaari, Refuge Victoria has mapped a series of reforms, from assessment and engagement to exiting refuge.
Support for pets in refuge
Refuge Victoria takes the care and protection of pets in refuge very seriously. Some animals that come with their families into refuge are injured, a result of violence against them, and have experienced trauma themselves. Sometimes, the instability at home may have meant they haven’t had regular check-ups or vaccinations.
Accessing available supports from vets near each of our refuge properties was proving difficult, and this year it led to Refuge Victoria entering into a partnership with Greencross.
Greencross Vets specialise in medical and preventative care and pet care advice and have clinics close to each of our refuge properties.
Greencross understands the services we offer clients and the trauma some of our pets experience. Importantly, our partnership with Greencross means families can support their pets to get treated quickly upon entry into refuge.
In-house counselling
Many people who enter refuge are in need of immediate trauma counselling, yet several barriers were resulting in some missing out. Navigating the service system was complex, a lack of counsellors meant lengthy delays, and some counselling services only offered services post-refuge.
It was for these reasons that this year, Refuge Victoria engaged psychologists to work onsite with our clients.
These psychologists provide comprehensive clinical mental health and risk assessment, and psycho-social treatment within a feminist, person centred, holistic and trauma informed framework.
Some of the benefits of having onsite counsellors include timely therapeutic intervention, the ability to receive support within a safe space, and minimising traumatisation.
Working with our counsellors, clients are able to identify patterns, strengths, and goals, and build coping mechanisms and resilience.