by Sahar Foladi
In the face of increasing family violence reports, a Dandenong-based not-for-profit organisation’s vital service is at risk due to a lack of funding.
Community Abundance provides a range of services from NDIS to community inclusion, family and individual counselling and a Men’s Behaviour Change program.
The organisation has been running the crucial Men’s Behaviour Change (MBC) program in the community for the past four years with no funding.
Group facilitator of the program and a family violence practitioner Deng Kor says they’re able to carry out the work through volunteers.
There are eight men who have perpetrated violence and have been on a waitlist for the past three months.
“I have become tired. We’ve never had funding for this program so we do the work voluntarily,” Mr Kor said.
“I’ve advocated about this lack of funds in 2014 unfortunately we’ve been overlooked.
“Imagine you’re mandated by court to attend the program and we don’t have enough resources for any intake. How will you do it?”
Between 12 to 15 men attend MBC once a week for two hours.
“I have people come from various backgrounds, not just African anymore.
“Even right now one of the men came back to say thanks and spoke about how the program helped him,” Mr Kor said.
“He said he was previously not aware about the forms of violence. Now he has full understanding on how to manage his stress and trauma.
“Because he came from refugee background, violence became part of his life.
“A part of family violence is being controlling financially as well as emotional abuse. They (CALD community) don’t consider it as violence, but he knows now he cannot do that anymore.”
Now he says the MBC is at risk of the program being cancelled at any moment due to volunteers’ exhaustion.
This comes as funding for its family violence primary prevention program initiatives faces an uncertain future.
Community Abundance have been funded $200,000 for three years up until this month to deliver its Healing African Communities through Respectful Communications project, which included translating materials to raise awareness about the prevention of family violence.
The primary prevention program targeted African and other culturally and linguistically diverse people.
The State Government is set to advise whether funding will be renewed over coming weeks.
But yet, Mr Kor says “the family violence is still there”. “Every day we have a new case.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson they’ve helped Community Abundance with funding since 2021 and work hard to “engage with diverse communities right across the state.”
“We lead the nation with our work to strengthen how we prevent and respond to family violence and violence against women, investing significantly in Men’s Behaviour Change programs and other interventions to address violence.
“The Victorian Budget 2024-’25 invests $41.6 million over four years to continue supporting people who use family violence to change their harmful behaviour – including $12.8 million to continue tailored approaches for people from diverse cohorts who use violence.”
This year’s state budget invests an additional $2.1 million to support multicultural and faith organisations to deliver tailored family violence prevention initiatives for the next year.
