Speaker 1: Apogae Production.
Speaker 2: Hi, my name's Beck Woodbine and welcome to Tenderness for Nurses.
Speaker 1: I'm grateful for the person that I have the opportunity
Speaker 1: to be, so I hit it and parked it for
Speaker 1: Nelly four years. We always have free will, we always
Speaker 1: get to choose. We are autonomous.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Teninists for Nurses. I'm Beck your host, and
Speaker 2: I have the wonderful Victoria Parker, who is the CEO
Speaker 2: of the Lady Musgrave Trust with me today. Just a
Speaker 2: little bit of info about the Lady Musgrave Trust. It
Speaker 2: is Queensland's oldest charity and they do a lot of
Speaker 2: work for women within the DV housing space, which we
Speaker 2: know if you've listened to a couple of my podcasts ago,
Speaker 2: what a huge issue housing is. But they're all about
Speaker 2: providing practical solutions that help women save lives. They also
Speaker 2: help transition women that are at They help them get
Speaker 2: jobs and also to assimilate them from needing a house
Speaker 2: to actually being in their own rental home or home
Speaker 2: or whatever transpires for them. So thank you so much
Speaker 2: for taking the time, Victoria to come and chat with me.
Speaker 1: My pleasure. That's a great summary of what we do.
Speaker 2: I did my research. How about you fill us in
Speaker 2: in your own words about what the Lady must Grave
Speaker 2: Trust does and who it helps and how it helps.
Speaker 1: So, as you say, with Queensland's oldest charity, this year
Speaker 1: is our one hundred and fortieth anniversary and it's essentially
Speaker 1: the birthday we wish we never had to have because
Speaker 1: by the very fact that we're still operating means that
Speaker 1: we're still in business and as you just mentioned, the
Speaker 1: reason why we're around has never been more necessary. And
Speaker 1: so in fact business is booming, which is something we
Speaker 1: don't want to have from the interm profits space. So the
Speaker 1: Lady must Grave Trust we provide housing solutions to young
Speaker 1: women and children who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Speaker 1: We started in eighteen eighty five and way back then.
Speaker 1: The reason why we started is that the big boats
Speaker 1: that were coming across from Europe to settle in Australia.
Speaker 1: They landed in the immigration port in Brisbane, which is
Speaker 1: just under Queen's Wharf where Queen's Wolf is now, and
Speaker 1: these young women were of service on the boats. When
Speaker 1: they arrived in Brisbane, they got off the boat and
Speaker 1: essentially they were unemployed and homeless, and the government of
Speaker 1: the day didn't see that as being an issue, but
Speaker 1: Lady Musgrave did. She was the wife of one of
Speaker 1: the first governors of Queensland, so she was quite a
Speaker 1: progressive woman that in the day she had been living
Speaker 1: with her husband all across the world, and so she
Speaker 1: saw this as being an issue. So she gathered up
Speaker 1: these young women and she put them into a safe
Speaker 1: place to live. But not only did she recognize the
Speaker 1: value of a safe place to live, but she also
Speaker 1: identified that the two key leavers out of disadvantage and
Speaker 1: poverty looking at employment and education opportunities. So she connected
Speaker 1: these young women to services and skills they could then
Speaker 1: become financially independent in their own right. So those are
Speaker 1: the foundations for the Lady musk Grave Trust still today.
Speaker 1: But the reason why we have so many young women
Speaker 1: and their children looking for a place to live is
Speaker 1: because of domestic and family violence. That is the scourg
Speaker 1: that we are facing today and one hundred percent of
Speaker 1: the women that we support have been impacted by violence.
Speaker 1: It's one to one, So there's no doubt that that's
Speaker 1: a leading precursor for young women needing a safe place
Speaker 1: to live.
Speaker 2: So is there an age limit that you look after.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so we have because we're a trust, a charitable organization,
Speaker 1: we have objects and those objects are legally binding to
Speaker 1: the operations of our organization, and we only have a few.
Speaker 1: One is that we support young women, and so we're
Speaker 1: interpreting that is under the age of thirty. Also, these
Speaker 1: women need to be experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Speaker 1: And we also because we're a transitional housing service, which
Speaker 1: means that we're not an emergency or a refuge. So
Speaker 1: that means that women move into our properties, they get
Speaker 1: a lease in their name, which is really powerful for
Speaker 1: a young woman to absolutely have the lease in their
Speaker 1: name and have the opportunity to get a positive rental record.
Speaker 1: So this is transitional. So they live with us in
Speaker 1: our properties for twelve months or eighteen months as required,
Speaker 1: and the viewers that they're then transitioning to long term housing.
Speaker 1: So that's really the framework of which we offer. But
Speaker 1: then when women move into our properties, we as an
Speaker 1: organization do whatever we can within our power to support
Speaker 1: these young women to identify their goals and then work
Speaker 1: towards them.
Speaker 2: How do the women get in touch with your organization
Speaker 2: with your trust.
Speaker 1: We are a very small organization and we're purposefully staying
Speaker 1: small and in order to deliver our service, we partner
Speaker 1: with excellent organizations that are really good at what they do,
Speaker 1: and we understand that for young women who are experiencing
Speaker 1: trauma and at risk, our trust is a really big
Speaker 1: thing and so quite often it's hard to form those
Speaker 1: relationships and we don't want to have to duplicate and
Speaker 1: ask women to form relationships with us unnecessarily, so we
Speaker 1: encourage referrals through our partner organizations, which are community services
Speaker 1: located throughout Queensland, and they refer into us when we
Speaker 1: have a vacancy. So we have a very small portfolio
Speaker 1: of properties. We don't receive any recurrent government funding. So
Speaker 1: for the entirety of our history, we have only been
Speaker 1: alive and possible because of support from the community and
Speaker 1: corporate organizations and like minded philanthropic funds. And again I
Speaker 1: like that. I think it's important again for us to
Speaker 1: provide a service to the community and fill that gap
Speaker 1: between what community needs and how government responds. We then
Speaker 1: prove up what works and we make available to government
Speaker 1: that evidence to form their program and funding decisions.
Speaker 2: Is it mainly in your experience certain economic groups that
Speaker 2: are more impacted than others, or do you find it's
Speaker 2: just now across the board.
Speaker 1: So certainly, domestic and family of violence is everywhere. It
Speaker 1: does not discriminate with age or socioeconomic, or education or ethnic.
Speaker 1: But we do know it affects those who are disadvantaged,
Speaker 1: who those who live in hardship and in poverty much worse.
Speaker 1: We know it is more common in those communities and
Speaker 1: there are reasons for that. Some of those reasons are
Speaker 1: that it's intergenerational, so families that grow up in violence
Speaker 1: then create families which have violence occurring. We also know
Speaker 1: that when there aren't support networks wrapped around someone, then
Speaker 1: their likelihood to be affected by domestican family violence in
Speaker 1: an ongoing way is increased. We also know educations are
Speaker 1: really key thing, yes, particularly when domestican family violence sometimes
Speaker 1: is not obvious. And that's getting into the area of
Speaker 1: conversive control where it's really subtle and it's really personalized
Speaker 1: to the relationship between the man and the woman. And
Speaker 1: I'm saying man and woman because it is a gendered issue.
Speaker 1: Most prominently, violence occurs in every relationship, but the domestican
Speaker 1: family violence that the lady must grave trust responds to
Speaker 1: is the violence that is that woman experience and that
Speaker 1: results in them needing a safe place to live.
Speaker 2: It's funny. I've always said to my daughter and to
Speaker 2: my son's partner, you girls have your own bank accounts.
Speaker 2: You make sure you're always financially independent. And you know
Speaker 2: I'm saying this to my son's partner, but it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2: They have to have that financial independence whether you're in
Speaker 2: a relationship or not.
Speaker 1: And it gives a choice.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And they look at me and they go, oh.
Speaker 1: No, it's really important, so important. I mean so many
Speaker 1: situations where financial abuse is rampant. One of our tenants,
Speaker 1: a young twenty three year old woman, was sharing with
Speaker 1: me her story and it just really struck me how
Speaker 1: sophisticated some of this financial abuse can be. In that
Speaker 1: her boyfriend was somehow learned that he could transfer money
Speaker 1: in and out of her account to the point where
Speaker 1: the bank thought something was shady and shut down her account.
Speaker 1: He had all of her id so that she wasn't
Speaker 1: able to then set up in another account, and he
Speaker 1: then inserted an iPod airtracker into the sole of her
Speaker 1: shoes so that he could track her. So this level
Speaker 1: of sophistication meant that she was then unable to go
Speaker 1: to a refuge because she had been tracked and it
Speaker 1: would put other residents at risk. And it was really
Speaker 1: only when she was bushwalking with a friend that she
Speaker 1: discovered that this tracker was happening. She kept seeing the
Speaker 1: alert come up. She wasn't sure it was about until
Speaker 1: her friend said, what is that? Why is it coming
Speaker 1: up with my phone? So the lens that people go
Speaker 1: to in order to control women is frightening. And so
Speaker 1: when I say education, it's not just formal education, but
Speaker 1: it's also an awareness of what the red flags of
Speaker 1: an unhealthy relationship are. And again they're different, they're different
Speaker 1: for every relationship. But you can say that there's jealousy,
Speaker 1: love bombing, so that fast tracking of a relationship and
Speaker 1: so much love and so many gifts, and then was
Speaker 1: holding it if you're not doing and performing as you
Speaker 1: should in the eyes of your partner. Isolation and estrangement
Speaker 1: from family and friends, Data control, control over your social
Speaker 1: media accounts, telling you what to wear, what you should do.
Speaker 1: All of those are examples of controlling behavior. Not all
Speaker 1: of the meaning that it's an unhealthy relationship, but they
Speaker 1: are all things to consider. Whereas the green flags of
Speaker 1: healthy relationships, they're pretty consistent and ability to communicate, an
Speaker 1: ability to own in one's own position in the relationship,
Speaker 1: financial independence, trust, trust, and I'm not an expert in
Speaker 1: domestic violence. In terms of the work that I do,
Speaker 1: we are more on the side of housing, but I
Speaker 1: know a little bit because of the women that we support.
Speaker 1: But I'm more focused on the housing that we provide
Speaker 1: because I do know that one of the best things
Speaker 1: that can be made available to Queensland and Australian women
Speaker 1: is the chance and the choice to go somewhere safe
Speaker 1: if they're unsafe in their current home. And unfortunately Queensland
Speaker 1: and Australia they don't offer enough and so more than not,
Speaker 1: women are having to stay in the situation they're in,
Speaker 1: or they are considering homelessness as a better option.
Speaker 2: If someone wanted to, you know, they get in touch
Speaker 2: with an agency. They're very concerned about, you know, their welfare.
Speaker 2: I know a lot of women have in the past,
Speaker 2: and I'm not bagging the police or anything like that,
Speaker 2: but you know, have presented and being turned away and
Speaker 2: where where do they go if they're really scared? I mean,
Speaker 2: what do they do with you talking to the women
Speaker 2: that you have spoken to and helped? Do they just
Speaker 2: go up in a car and sleep rough in the car?
Speaker 1: And I'm sure do? I mean absolutely. The first advice
Speaker 1: is if you're not, if you're in an unsafe situation,
Speaker 1: called the police. Without a doubt, call the police. On
Speaker 1: a note on Queensland Police Service, they are doing credible
Speaker 1: work in improving understanding in their response to domestican family
Speaker 1: of violence. The unfortunate thing is that they're underresourced, Like
Speaker 1: the demand is enormous.
Speaker 2: And imagine the vicarious trauma those guys are facing all
Speaker 2: the time, you know, showing up to you know, some
Speaker 2: of the scenes would be horrendous that they see.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, And I think on average I was reading
Speaker 1: just this morning in the article that you and I
Speaker 1: were talking about earlier, each domestican family of violence incident
Speaker 1: they respond to averages about four to six hours. And
Speaker 1: just the other day in Logan there were one hundred
Speaker 1: underresourced calls that the police could not respond to.
Speaker 2: How do we change this? What is happening in our society?
Speaker 2: That is it? The levels of stress. Is it financial problems?
Speaker 2: Is it I know, social media? Is it past trauma?
Speaker 2: Is it intergenerational trauma? I mean I remember some things
Speaker 2: as a kid growing up, but as in not in
Speaker 2: my family, but you know, friends at school. To me,
Speaker 2: it seems maybe I'm more aware, but it seems to
Speaker 2: be a real problem.
Speaker 1: Oh, there's no doubt it's a real problem. And I
Speaker 1: think it's everything that you said. I think there is
Speaker 1: definitely an increased awareness of what domestic family of violence is,
Speaker 1: and there is an increased ability for women to power
Speaker 1: for them to ask for help. I think there is
Speaker 1: definitely an increase in women asking for help. I think
Speaker 1: they're an increase in services. But from what I see
Speaker 1: on the street and what I hear from our partners,
Speaker 1: the demand is greater than the services available and the
Speaker 1: funding available. And I think it's everything that you mentioned.
Speaker 1: I think it is definitely increased hardship where times are
Speaker 1: tough right now for everyone. I think definitely that impacts
Speaker 1: impacts more significantly in people's views and their ability to
Speaker 1: manage and regulate their own emotions and violence being a solution.
Speaker 2: And you've got the stuff on TV, but I mean
Speaker 2: violence is everywhere you look at the games the people
Speaker 2: play and the young kids, they're so violence some of
Speaker 2: those games and some of them what they do to
Speaker 2: women in those games is horrendous.
Speaker 1: And there are influences that are making enormous amounts of
Speaker 1: money on the back of encouraging men to have unhealthy
Speaker 1: relationships with women. And then you think about porn that
Speaker 1: it perpetuates these really unhealthy, unsatisfying, unrealistic situations. But the
Speaker 1: solution is twofold I reckon. The solution is absolutely increasing targeted,
Speaker 1: high quality support, making sure that there are safe places
Speaker 1: for women to go to when they need to. But
Speaker 1: also it's working with our young people. It's interrupting and
Speaker 1: preventing that continuum of unhealthiness that then leads through to violence.
Speaker 1: We do a lot of work with Small Steps for Hannah,
Speaker 1: which is an incredible organization, the work that Lloyd and
Speaker 1: Sue have done, and they're bravery encouraged, but there are
Speaker 1: solutions and the work that Small Steps for Hannah are doing.
Speaker 1: They've changed legislation, which is phenomenal, They've increased awareness amongst
Speaker 1: our community. But what they're really doing so powerfully is
Speaker 1: they're developing an educational program that is going into schools
Speaker 1: and workplaces to change the cultural understanding about what is
Speaker 1: healthy masculinity. Particularly, So there's this amazing legend called Dave Kramer,
Speaker 1: who should absolutely be sitting in the seat in a
Speaker 1: future episode. And he's developed this program called Holt, and
Speaker 1: he speaks so powerfully around what healthy masculinity looks like
Speaker 1: and the work that he does in talking to young boys,
Speaker 1: particularly in schools and workplaces, and his view and I'm
Speaker 1: just repeating what he says because it really struck with me,
Speaker 1: is that there's this continuum of unhealthiness when it comes
Speaker 1: to toxic masculinity or unhealthy masculinity, and it starts at
Speaker 1: one end, which seemingly might be harmless, which is, you know,
Speaker 1: sexist jokes, wolf whistles. That's at one end. The other
Speaker 1: end is violence and murder and rape. And while not
Speaker 1: everyone who will whistles or says a sexist joke will
Speaker 1: become a murderer, absolutely one hundred percent of the murderers
Speaker 1: started at the other end, where they had an unhealthy
Speaker 1: idea of a woman in a very seemingly in a
Speaker 1: vanilla sense. But you can, actually you can intercept the
Speaker 1: murderers and the rapists and the violent perpetrators right down
Speaker 1: here in the early days before it gets more serious,
Speaker 1: and ultimately, hopefully then once those young people have a
Speaker 1: better understanding or a more healthy understanding about masculinity and
Speaker 1: relationships with women, that they then have families and then
Speaker 1: continue that healthy situation in their own family.
Speaker 2: I remember one time I was pretty strict with what
Speaker 2: the kids watched on the computers. And you know, if
Speaker 2: they shut the computer, they had to reopen it up
Speaker 2: for me to have a look like I was. You know,
Speaker 2: I was paying for it. I had, and they weren't eighteen,
Speaker 2: so I had every right to have a look at
Speaker 2: what I needed to have a look at. And I
Speaker 2: remember one day when Jake was younger and be horrified.
Speaker 2: I'm going to tell the story, but I said to him,
Speaker 2: have you seen any pawn? And where he saw the
Speaker 2: first time was on the school bus school bus with
Speaker 2: all the school boys, because.
Speaker 1: He went to place right on your way to school.
Speaker 2: And it was at that point I sat him down
Speaker 2: and I said, sweetheart, you realize what you're seeing is
Speaker 2: just all show. I said, that is not what a
Speaker 2: loving relationship is about. And because of the nature of
Speaker 2: my work and my clients and patients coming in and
Speaker 2: what they tell me that have been on the apps
Speaker 2: and gone out on these random dates or whatever. There
Speaker 2: is this idea that normal sex, and this is coming
Speaker 2: from women that are client to mine, is someone holding
Speaker 2: their neck anal sex on the first date that they
Speaker 2: think that's the north average, that they think that every
Speaker 2: female has this perfect, tiny little vagina. Things that are
Speaker 2: just completely wrong.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know.
Speaker 2: And so I had to have this conversation with him
Speaker 2: that and he was mortified. But I'll be damned if
Speaker 2: I wasn't going to have my son be a respectful
Speaker 2: young man because they just not on your not on
Speaker 2: my watch. And you know, he's got the most beautiful partner.
Speaker 2: He is the most loving son and partner to Lily.
Speaker 2: And you know, even though they were really hard conversations
Speaker 2: when he was younger and both of us were uncomfortable,
Speaker 2: I'm so pleased I did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds like you and I had almost the
Speaker 1: same conversation with our son, Is that right, Yeah, so
Speaker 1: I said the same. I said, you do know that
Speaker 1: that's not real, and you do know that those women
Speaker 1: are not enjoying it, And he's like, of course, well
Speaker 1: I know that I know that, and now he is
Speaker 1: in a beautiful relationship.
Speaker 2: With a lily as well. I was right, Oh my god,
Speaker 2: But I mean, did you feel uncomfortable in that moment?
Speaker 1: But I could not walk past it.
Speaker 2: No, I couldn't either.
Speaker 1: I could not walk past it.
Speaker 2: I did.
Speaker 1: I had to. I had to bring it up in
Speaker 1: the work that I do, even without the work that
Speaker 1: we do, the fact that we are women and we
Speaker 1: it is our responsibility, but it's everyone's responsibility. But I
Speaker 1: feel extra responsible for raising a sun and wanting to
Speaker 1: make sure that I do everything I can. He's always
Speaker 1: got free will I do everything I have every give
Speaker 1: him everything that is possible for him to have the
Speaker 1: tools to make the right decisions in our community.
Speaker 2: Yeah, wonderful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's it. That's all I can do. I can't
Speaker 1: control him, but I can control what I make available
Speaker 1: for him to then use as an adult.
Speaker 2: And it's not easy doing that, and it's not easy
Speaker 2: asking those questions because I remember my sister once walked
Speaker 2: in on her son and he had and that was
Speaker 2: in the days where you could put something in and
Speaker 2: next thing you were on a completely horrendous website like
Speaker 2: this is like fifteen twenty years ago, and she walked
Speaker 2: in and here he was looking at one of those websites,
Speaker 2: and she had a heart attack and switched it off.
Speaker 2: And his words to her, and it's always stayed with
Speaker 2: me is, oh, thank god you did that, because you
Speaker 2: said I couldn't shut it off.
Speaker 1: Couldn't couldn't. Actually he couldn't.
Speaker 2: Brain, his brain couldn't shut off.
Speaker 1: So that I've read a bit about it, and again
Speaker 1: this is outside of my scope of what I do professionally,
Speaker 1: but I'm really interested in the brain. It's fascinating. I know,
Speaker 1: read a lot of books and I followed a lot
Speaker 1: of people around plasticity of the brain and how the
Speaker 1: brain works. And from what I understand, pawn activates that
Speaker 1: part of your brain that is like it's a dopamine response,
Speaker 1: and you become addicted to it quite quickly, and you
Speaker 1: get used to what you're watching quite quickly, so you
Speaker 1: always need to up the ante, and so you're constantly
Speaker 1: looking for more and more intense or porn or stimulation stimulus.
Speaker 1: And so you can imagine how that then impacts your
Speaker 1: own sexual relationship with your partner absolutely, And I can't
Speaker 1: imagine how it would feel to be trapped in that,
Speaker 1: like as a man or a woman having a porn
Speaker 1: addiction would be just torturous and you know the level
Speaker 1: of shame and the self disgusted, but you just can't
Speaker 1: stop and you keep get looking at worse and worse
Speaker 1: and worse. It would just be it's.
Speaker 2: Like any addiction. Yeah, it's like, you know, one bottle
Speaker 2: is not enough, you then go to two. It's like,
Speaker 2: you know, this particular drugs not enough, You've got to
Speaker 2: up it. It's the same with gambling, same with porn.
Speaker 2: You know, anything that hits that dopamine response and gets
Speaker 2: to you feeling great, but it just youah to have
Speaker 2: more and more and more. And that's why it's so destructive.
Speaker 1: And we're being manipulated to do that. That's the other thing.
Speaker 1: There are entities and individuals who.
Speaker 2: Are making a lot of money on that. Yeah, it's horrific, really,
Speaker 2: it's terrible. And it's just so easily accessible. Yeah, and
Speaker 2: if it's so easily accessible, then you know people that
Speaker 2: already have self control problems, I mean, that's going to
Speaker 2: feed into their problems totally.
Speaker 1: And again that's with the brain. So we know that
Speaker 1: the brain develops from an early age, and so they're
Speaker 1: all the things like self regulation and expression and connection
Speaker 1: and attachment are all developed in the first eight years
Speaker 1: of your life, and so if you're not exposed to
Speaker 1: those environments, those positive environments, then you don't have those
Speaker 1: aspects in your brain that are developed, and so then
Speaker 1: you're far more susceptible to those stimulations and stimulus down
Speaker 1: the track. So essentially, then we're having adults whose brains
Speaker 1: have not developed in a healthy way, then being exposed
Speaker 1: to stimulation and reacting in ways that aren't moderated, aren't moderates,
Speaker 1: but are quite reasonable considering from where they've come from.
Speaker 1: And then they then create families, and because they have
Speaker 1: not been modeled out of a parent, they then parent and
Speaker 1: unhealthy ways and it just continues. So the work of
Speaker 1: the trust this route routing around there is that we
Speaker 1: love working with young women and their children because it's
Speaker 1: our opportunity to support both women and child and we
Speaker 1: see it as an amazing opportunity while they're living in
Speaker 1: our properties to interrupt the cycle of disadvantage for mum
Speaker 1: and focus on the potential of their baby. And so
Speaker 1: we look to support mum and provide her with all
Speaker 1: of the information and an assistance that she wants to
Speaker 1: develop life skills and heal from her past trauma, engage
Speaker 1: with her baby in healthy ways, and also then we
Speaker 1: look to the developmental opportunities for that child.
Speaker 2: So what do you offer for them to move through
Speaker 2: their trauma? Is it? Do you then put them in
Speaker 2: touch with another service like a counseling service? I mean,
Speaker 2: how do you deal with the trauma?
Speaker 1: Yes, so our preferred way of offering support is called
Speaker 1: individualized case management support, where the support management plan is
Speaker 1: individualized to that person.
Speaker 2: But that's something organized by you guys.
Speaker 1: No. So again for us, we are tiny and we
Speaker 1: keep ourselves tiny, and we partner with commercial relationships with
Speaker 1: organizations that are excellent at what they do and operating
Speaker 1: in the geographic location that we have housing. So we
Speaker 1: focus on providing the house and the environment for this
Speaker 1: woman to this young family to live in, and then
Speaker 1: we engage with this service organization who has an existing
Speaker 1: relationship with that tenant to wrap around them and provide
Speaker 1: the support they need. So we've got ten properties across
Speaker 1: southeast Queensland that provide just about eight thousand nights of
Speaker 1: safety per year. But the piece to the resistance of
Speaker 1: the work that we've been doing over the last couple
Speaker 1: of years is a project down in Logan. So we
Speaker 1: were very lucky to be donated a large block of
Speaker 1: land in Logan.
Speaker 2: How wonderful.
Speaker 1: And then we've partnered with the construction and the development
Speaker 1: sector who have wrapped around us and designed up using
Speaker 1: the architect Michael Rainer from Black Rainer. It's just exceptional
Speaker 1: in his team have just designed this most beautiful housing
Speaker 1: complex that will once finished, be for fully self contained units.
Speaker 1: Three of them are two bedroom, one of them's three bedroom,
Speaker 1: and importantly also a shared common space for these young
Speaker 1: mums to engage with each other and form relationships and
Speaker 1: have program work delivered there. And so this particular project
Speaker 1: will be specifically for mums under the age of twenty
Speaker 1: four who are pregnant or parenting to live in the
Speaker 1: property and receive the most high quality support possible in
Speaker 1: a really high dosage amount, so that we can then
Speaker 1: demonstrate that if that happens, these women will then move
Speaker 1: out of this property after twelve to eighteen months and
Speaker 1: never again engage with the service system as they have
Speaker 1: been before. And we looked to evaluate that and then
Speaker 1: replicate it in other communities across Queensland.
Speaker 2: How fantastic.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that project so donated the land, we had
Speaker 1: the designs done for free. We were able to fundraise
Speaker 1: some money in Queensland Government gave us a grant to
Speaker 1: finish construction. We had a build or agree to do
Speaker 1: it at cost the amazing McNab and we started construction
Speaker 1: in June last year and we'll be welcoming four young
Speaker 1: mums and their kids to move in in March, so
Speaker 1: six six to eight weeks away.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, that's just amazing.
Speaker 1: It's incredible.
Speaker 2: How do you choose who's going to go in there?
Speaker 1: It's tricky because we also want to make sure anyone
Speaker 1: that moves in there is set up for success. So
Speaker 1: we understand that the housing and the support model we
Speaker 1: offer is not for everyone. It doesn't suit highly complex women,
Speaker 1: highly cons situations that are really acute. So as I mentioned,
Speaker 1: we're not refuge or christ this accommodation. So generally women
Speaker 1: move into our properties when the domestican found their violence
Speaker 1: incident is somewhat resolved or is in the pathway to
Speaker 1: being resolved, and we see we offer this opportunity to
Speaker 1: women who have the capacity to make the most of
Speaker 1: it and see this as an opportunity for twelve to
Speaker 1: eighty months. I have a safe haven that I can
Speaker 1: and it's a place where I can gather myself, sleep well,
Speaker 1: take deep breaths, My children can stabilize, and I can
Speaker 1: make and take steps towards my future. So for some women,
Speaker 1: that's not suitable, and so we do engage with women
Speaker 1: and better take time to understand their circumstances. But even so,
Speaker 1: we definitely don't have enough places for all the women
Speaker 1: that want this opportunity.
Speaker 2: Do you track their forward movement their success.
Speaker 1: After they leave us? Unfortunately, No, It's something I would
Speaker 1: really like to do. I'd like to do that longitunital study.
Speaker 1: There are certainly some tenants who stay in touch with
Speaker 1: us and they want to pay it forward and they
Speaker 1: want to offer their stories of hope to other tenants.
Speaker 1: And that's really beautiful to hear.
Speaker 2: That takes courage to do that, because you could put
Speaker 2: your head down in shame.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think a big part. I think what's happening
Speaker 1: in our community, and maybe it's just the company I keep,
Speaker 1: but the level of shame is definitely lessening because as
Speaker 1: part of their healing journey, these women are recognizing their
Speaker 1: own personal strength. And so an example is in that
Speaker 1: Logan project I was just talking about. One of the
Speaker 1: most fabulous parts of that project is that we've been
Speaker 1: walking beside this group of young Logan moms who've got
Speaker 1: lived experience of violence and homelessness, and they've been acting
Speaker 1: as expert advisors in this project to tell us what
Speaker 1: is needed. So we're not guessing or coming in from
Speaker 1: another space saying this is what you need to be better.
Speaker 1: We're using the expert knowledge of these young mums to
Speaker 1: inform the design and the program delivery. And what I've
Speaker 1: witnessed as part of this project, there's this transference of
Speaker 1: skills and this blossoming of all parties. So as an example,
Speaker 1: Michael Rayner, who's at a fabulous architect well renowned, award
Speaker 1: winning across Australia, has engaged with these young Logan moms
Speaker 1: and the experience has transformed him and he's publicly said
Speaker 1: that the experience of working with them has redefined for
Speaker 1: him the role that architecture plays in people's lives and
Speaker 1: his purpose within it. And equally, the transference of these
Speaker 1: young mums engaging with this project group of professionals in
Speaker 1: developing up this housing complex. Has seen these young mums
Speaker 1: blossom and has seen them understand the power of their
Speaker 1: voice and their experience to make a difference. And there's
Speaker 1: this one young woman who's become a friend of mine.
Speaker 1: When she was thirteen, she was in grade eight, she
Speaker 1: was essentially living in the playground of Hungry Jackson Logan
Speaker 1: because she could not go home. So at age fifteen,
Speaker 1: she chose to have a child so that she could
Speaker 1: have something to love and have something love her. But
Speaker 1: by the time she was twenty five, she had three
Speaker 1: children and she was living in a refuge with a
Speaker 1: bag each for each of the children and her car
Speaker 1: which was her safety net. So her trajectory was living
Speaker 1: coming from an unsafe family environment, then falling into an
Speaker 1: unsafe family environment, and then taking her children out of that.
Speaker 1: She has blossomed through this experience as becoming this expert advisor.
Speaker 1: She's now being paid to speak for other organizations and
Speaker 1: inform their program development. I've seen her children, her three
Speaker 1: young girls, witness the change in their mum, and they
Speaker 1: themselves are stepping up for leadership positions in their schools now,
Speaker 1: because I can see the change. And this is before
Speaker 1: anyone's even moved into this housing complex. This is just
Speaker 1: in the delivery of it. It's just the juju and
Speaker 1: the magic that's going into this project is just rolling on.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is so phenomenal. And you know that's now
Speaker 2: on her CV. Yes, yes, yes, and that's going to
Speaker 2: be with her forever.
Speaker 1: Yes, she said, it's what's been a turning point in
Speaker 1: her life. But even so, like I mean, I love
Speaker 1: this woman and she's smart and savvy, and she's the
Speaker 1: first one that said that she just hasn't been around
Speaker 1: the right people her entire life, and so there but
Speaker 1: for the grace of God, go I you know, it's people,
Speaker 1: it's we're lucky if we are born into situations where
Speaker 1: we have choice and the opportunity. But I still see
Speaker 1: trauma pop up in her, and I see her confidence waiver,
Speaker 1: and I see her find it difficult to think that
Speaker 1: people want to know what she thinks about things. So
Speaker 1: it's a long road to recovery, but she keeps showing
Speaker 1: up for it. So I'm really proud of her.
Speaker 2: If people that are listening to the body want to
Speaker 2: help out what's the best way.
Speaker 1: So lots of ways. We are constantly fundraising, so funds
Speaker 1: are necessary, so we would encourage anyone. Of course, you
Speaker 1: can make a donation to the Trust, but also host
Speaker 1: an event and choose us as your beneficiary. Hold a lunch,
Speaker 1: do a golfing day, do anything, and particularly do it
Speaker 1: with your community, like do it where you connect with others,
Speaker 1: because then there's lots of multiple benef it's coming from it.
Speaker 1: Keep an eye up for your friends, identify unhealthy relationships
Speaker 1: and encourage conversations. I think you know you're helping us
Speaker 1: if you're reducing the problem.
Speaker 2: That's a really tough one having those conversations.
Speaker 1: It is particularly when often you're working. You know, these
Speaker 1: women that are in relationships have got their partner who
Speaker 1: are separating people from their friends. We actually, with the
Speaker 1: help of Small Steps for Hannah, started up a website
Speaker 1: a couple of years ago and it's on the back
Speaker 1: of our handy guide of support services. So for about
Speaker 1: thirteen years, the Lady Musgrave Trust has been producing a
Speaker 1: service directory of all the organizations across Queensland that are
Speaker 1: funded to support women. That were set up because we
Speaker 1: know that it's really hard to find an organization when
Speaker 1: you're in a good state of mind, and it's all
Speaker 1: absolutely impossible when you're feeling stressed. So these service directories
Speaker 1: that we've got hard copies ones for Brisbane and surrounds
Speaker 1: and another one is for Regional Queensland and they're really
Speaker 1: easy to use, free resource to find an organization. I
Speaker 1: can support you. Small steps for Hannah got in touch
Speaker 1: with us and they said that if they'd have known
Speaker 1: about this service directory, it would have made a difference
Speaker 1: for them because they, as a family and their friendship
Speaker 1: group would have known more what to do when Hannah
Speaker 1: when they witnessed what Hannah was going through before she
Speaker 1: was murdered. So with funding from them and their support,
Speaker 1: we were able to set up an online version of
Speaker 1: our Handy Guide and that has increased information around domestic
Speaker 1: and family violence and what to do if you see
Speaker 1: evidence of it happening in your fam for a family
Speaker 1: or friend. So the website for that is the Handyguide
Speaker 1: dot com dot au. We encourage people to go there
Speaker 1: you can. It's very easy to use. As I mentioned,
Speaker 1: there's information, but it's also a very useful way to
Speaker 1: put in a postcode and a keyword and it connects
Speaker 1: you with organizations and that location that can give you
Speaker 1: more assistance. So i'd strongly encourage people to go there.
Speaker 2: What I might do is get the web different websites
Speaker 2: great from you that you think will be relevant for
Speaker 2: our listeners.
Speaker 1: DV connector phenomenal as well, and they're twenty four hours.
Speaker 1: And then this particularly if it's if you need to
Speaker 1: assistance in leaving a situation, they're very good at liaising
Speaker 1: with lots of different organization just to find somewhere for
Speaker 1: you to go to safely. And then it's really strongly
Speaker 1: also encourage one eight hundred respect and that's a very
Speaker 1: useful counseling service that can support you through the situation.
Speaker 1: And they've just incredibly well resourced. And so the handygard's
Speaker 1: great for to connect you to services and organizations. But
Speaker 1: those are the top ones that I would absolutely site.
Speaker 1: Okay starting point.
Speaker 2: Okay, so I will put all of those in great
Speaker 2: the website. I just want to say thank you for
Speaker 2: coming in today. I myself have signed up to help
Speaker 2: with you guys, and a really dear friend of mine
Speaker 2: has as well, So we're all going to catch up
Speaker 2: for coffee. But I am so excited. I definitely want
Speaker 2: to come down and help do what those amazing apartments
Speaker 2: down in Logan. Yes, I will be there for that.
Speaker 1: That's Good's good to come to the Working.
Speaker 2: Bee, absolutely, and I encourage all of you. There's nothing
Speaker 2: better than thinking about other people rather than yourself when
Speaker 2: it comes to healing, healing from trauma, anxiety, depression. So
Speaker 2: you know, this is a really great organization to help out.
Speaker 2: So I would encourage you all if you're looking for
Speaker 2: someone to go and donate some time or some money
Speaker 2: to or resources, get in touch with these guys. The
Speaker 2: Lady must Grave Trust Victorious the CEO. Thank you so
Speaker 2: so much for coming in.
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. I've loved finding it in
Speaker 1: my pleasure