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Take the First Step Project

Take the First Step - Mitchell

Funded by the Victorian Law Foundation, the Mitchell Shire Take the First Step project trained local women in Mitchell Shire to become leaders who can help prevent family violence in their community.   

Mitchell Shire has some of the highest rates of family violence incidents and child protection reports in Victoria, with many families experiencing isolation as infrastructure fails to keep up with population growth. This innovative project provided a grassroots response by encouraging local women to create a network of support using community-led engagement strategies. The peer education training allowed the women to learn more about the causes of family violence and how to respond to and support someone experiencing family violence, including where they can go for help.   This project recognised that reaching isolated women in the places where they feel safest with accurate information regarding support options is often the first step towards safety for themselves and their children.

The Take the First Step Mitchell peer support leaders put together the following resources to help spread awareness among women in their community experiencing family violence. Click to download.

Take the First Step - Hume

With funding provided by the Hume City Council, and  using the same model as in the Take the First Step Project in Mitchell Shire, NCLC supported diverse women from the City of Hume to become peer educators and leaders working to prevent family violence in the community.

The Take the First Step Hume peer support leaders put together the following resources to help spread awareness among women in their community experiencing family violence. Click to download.