Case Studies
Anna lost her home, children and nearly her business due to domestic violence. She is slowly rebuilding her life with the help of the Central West Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service.
Anna was a 30-year old professional with two children, aged two years and six weeks. She had relocated to Central West NSW, from Sydney, four years previously with her husband, and was living on a rural property with no mobile phone service.
Anna ran a successful business but her husband denied her access to money and insisted she buy all her clothes at a local second hand store. The couple had a violent relationship and Anna concealed all her injuries from friends and family. Her husband was also ‘rough’ with the children.
Anna was referred to the Central West Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service by a nurse at the local medical centre. The nurse had been treating her for suspected post-natal depression when Anna had made a disclosure of domestic and family violence.
Anna was connected with a domestic and family violence caseworker and the police were notified. She was assessed by police as at ‘serious threat of further injury or death’ and the family was removed to a remote refuge in rural NSW. Anna was assisted in opening a new bank account and was accompanied to Centrelink to receive an emergency payment. The caseworker also arranged for security to be increased at her parents’ home.
Family and Community Services arranged for the children to be examined and it was discovered the youngest child had a bleed on the brain. The children were removed from Anna’s care into the guardianship of her parents, and Anna was denied visitation rights. Anna and her parents were supported by the domestic and family violence caseworker during the removal and, over the following two years, she was accompanied to meetings with Family and Community Services, solicitors and Family Support Services.
Anna has since moved into a private rental in Sydney and has relocated her business to her new home. Despite the enormous trauma and financial strain she has endured, Anna has a home, a business and is fighting to get her children back.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
Anna*
Simon was suffering from a debilitating mental illness and at risk of eviction from his public housing property when he came into contact with our specialist homelessness service. He is now thriving and excited at the prospect of moving out of public housing into the private rental market.
When Simon was referred to the Orange Homelessness and Housing Support Service, he was at risk of being evicted from his public housing property. He was unable to care for and maintain his property and, as a result, was caught up in disputes with angry neighbours. He was fearful that he would become homeless as he had no family or support networks in the community.
Simon disclosed that he had mental health issues that had not been treated by his GP, due to his inability to leave the house. His caseworker immediately arranged an appointment with his GP and assisted him in getting to his appointment.
Simon was placed on a mental health care plan and the caseworker arranged for a payment plan to be put in place with his housing provider to pay for the cost of repairing the damage to the property. Simon was also referred to a financial counsellor.
With the assistance of these services, Simon was able to maintain the tenancy at his existing property. He was later referred on to a case management service that specialises in working with clients with a diagnosed mental illness.
Simon is now thriving and is looking to move out of public housing into the private rental market.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
Simon*
Jane contacted our domestic violence services after a friend had recommended that she seek some assistance. Jane had been in relationship for over 30 years and had recently fled from the family home she shared with her ex-partner.
The Staying Home Leaving Violence team supported Jane with safety planning, securing her new property and successfully assisted her to apply for financial compensation to replace all her furniture which she had to leave behind. The Staying Home Leaving Violence case worker provided education and information on the cycle of domestic violence, as Jane had said during her initial meeting that she knew very little about domestic violence.
Jane said meeting and speaking with her case workers, was the first time someone had listened to her story and validated that the abuse she had been experiencing was domestic violence.
In her time since commencing with the service, Jane has re-entered the work force, engaged in financial counselling, which has contributed to her current financial stability. The relationships with her adult children have also significantly improved.
“My new home is my own little sanctuary that belongs just to me.”
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Jane*
Darren* presented to the Orange Homelessness and Housing Support Service as he was homeless and staying in Temporary Accommodation through DCJ- Housing. He needed some assistance in finding long-term accommodation.
Darren was a 20-year-old who had been couch surfing all over NSW for the previous 12 months. Darren presented as a very shy and reserved young man who had come through the Out Of Care program.
Darren was allocated to a caseworker who completed a risk assessment for Wirree Adult Refuge which is run by our Orange Homelessness and Housing Support service.
A place opened at Wirree and Darren readily accepted the offer of a room. The accommodation at Wirree is short term emergency accommodation and provided Darren with a safe and stable place to stay while he worked on his goal to obtain long term accommodation.
Support and advocacy was provided by his caseworker. Darren was assisted to look at and apply for private rentals. He was also assisted to lodge an application for housing assistance.
Darren engaged well during his time at Wirree and gained confidence. He completed the Rent It Keep It program which provides crucial information on how to be successful in a tenancy. Darren also enrolled in a Cert 3 in Aged Care at TAFE.
Darren consented to a referral to the Opportunity Pathways Program at Housing Plus and he regularly met with his coach at Wirree. Darren’s housing application was assessed as priority following advocacy from his caseworker and Darren was offered a Housing Plus property which he gladly accepted.
Darren grew in confidence during the time that he was at Wirree, which was wonderful to see. He is now being supported by the sustaining tenancies caseworker to ensure that he has all the tools that are requires to successfully sustain his new tenancy.
“Thank you to Housing Plus for their magnificent service, after 9 months of being homeless, I was able to get a rental property from them and I am settling into a place I can officially call home.”
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Darren*
Jessica was only a teenager when she experienced domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend. She is now living in a private rental, has regular employment, and feels safe and protected in the community.
When Housing Plus first came into contact with Jessica, she was residing in a youth refuge following the breakdown of her family relationships. Jessica was reluctant to end the relationship with her boyfriend, despite the violence he perpetrated on her, and was considering moving in with him and his family, putting her further at risk.
Jessica was referred to the Central West Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service (WDVCAS) after the police attended an incident of physical assault in a public place. She was supported to take out an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) against the perpetrator on the condition that he was forbidden from entering the youth refuge. This gave her a safe place from the perpetrator but also enabled her to maintain the relationship.
Jessica was referred to a domestic and family violence case management service and was provided with a transitional property. When she turned 18, she was supported to exit transitional housing into the private rental market. She was also linked with a counselling service and mental health provider to assist her in maintaining employment during this difficult period. In this time, Jessica ended her relationship with the perpetrator.
The domestic and family violence case management service coordinated with Staying Home Leaving Violence to secure Jessica’s new home with window locks and a CCTV security system to minimise the risk from the perpetrator.
Jessica is now in regular employment and feels safe in her rental property, protected from the perpetrator with an ADVO.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
Jessica*
Leslie is a single 57-year-old Aboriginal woman who fled to the Orange area from a nearby regional centre following a violent attack by her adult son, who also threatened to burn down her rental property.
When she attended our service, Leslie was in financial distress and paying for her own motel accommodation in an outlying town. Leslie did not know whether our service would be able to assist her, but she had been encouraged by a friend to make inquiries anyway. Leslie explained that she had believed assistance was reserved for those experiencing intimate partner violence. Leslie also felt that she faced barriers in accessing many services, such as Centrelink, due to her lack of experience in navigating the internet. She had never even used email. With our encouragement, Leslie contacted Centrelink and is now receiving a regular income while she applies for jobs.
Leslie had the goal of securing a private rental in a safe area where her son would not think to look for her. Having left her employment when she fled to Orange, Leslie had no income with which to finance this goal.
Our service assisted Leslie to complete an online application for Housing Assistance with DCJ with the aim of having her assessed for the Start Safely rental subsidy and assisted with submitting the required evidence as well as advocating on her behalf. We also applied for an Immediate Needs Package for Leslie through Victims Services which saw her receive the maximum grant of $5000. This grant will assist Leslie with rent and with replacing the furniture and appliances she had been forced to leave behind. Leslie was then successfully approved for a private rental in a neighboring town.
Our service also assisted Leslie to keep up to date with the progress of the ADVO that the NSW Police put in place to protect her. The ADVO was initially not enforceable as the police were not able to locate the whereabouts of her son. We collaborated with Leslie to make a safety plan around possible future contact with her son and will collaborate with the WDVCAS where Court is scheduled to ensure that Leslie’s voice is heard when the matter is before the Court.
Leslie says she is feeling at home in her new property and is planning to have her grandchildren visit her when it is warmer. As a result of her experience with our service, Leslie has expressed a desire to be involved with our women’s refuge as a volunteer.
“I feel a lot more settled and am seriously thinking about my future and what I want to do.”
If you or someone you know needs support, contact us HERE.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Leslie*
Sharla has been working with one of our Opportunity Pathways program coaches from Bathurst. She is an amazing single mum of two boys and has spent a lot of her time supporting her youngest who has high needs.
Sharla is qualified to work in the childcare industry and Opportunity Pathways was assisting Sharla to find employment in that industry however, Sharla noticed there was not enough professional support for young kids with high needs and has since enrolled in Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance to follow her passion and try to create more opportunities/support for children who needed it.
Opportunity Pathways financially assisted Sharla with course costs as well as setting her up with a laptop to be able to complete her course at home, which will allow Sharla to enter a career she is personally and professionally passionate about.
Opportunity Pathways also assisted Sharla with a Housing transfer application, linking in with community agencies to support her through this process.
Sharla has been able to identify a career she is passionate about and with support from the Opportunity Pathways Team she is well on her way to achieving her goals!
