New service supports women at risk

By Kath Gannaway

A NEW family violence program launched on 16 November aims to help those women who fall through the cracks of current services.
The SAGE (Support, Advice, Guidance, Empowerment) program was launched at the Eastern Community Legal Centre’s (ECLC) AGM by Attorney-General George Brandis.
ECLC provides services to Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, including their office in Healesville and outreach to Yarra Junction.
ECLC CEO Michael Smith said the program, which integrates with other service providers across Melbourne’s east, seeks to engage women most in need of assistance.
He said SAGE provided a unique ‘wraparound’ service for women experiencing or at risk of family violence, including legal, social and other support.
“The demand for family violence support has surged in recent years but many women still face barriers to accessing help. The SAGE program takes a partnership approach that’s more likely to reach women who fall through the cracks of mainstream and standalone services,” Mr Smith said.
Women from especially vulnerable population groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from migrant and CaLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) backgrounds and women with mental health issues or a disability, will have priority access to the SAGE program.
“With the SAGE program launched, we have greater capacity to provide a culturally safe service that responds to the whole-of-life issues that can arise with family violence,” Mr Smith said.
Statistics provided by ECLC state that in the 2015/16 year, the service assisted a record number of clients with 38 per cent of the centre’s work related to family violence matters and another 22 per cent related to family law. ECLC assisted 945 clients at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court as part of its family violence Intervention Order Support Service, up 20 per cent from the previous year.
ECLC was one of 12 legal assistance providers nominated by the Federal Government in 2015 to develop a specialist family violence service under the Women’s Safety Package.