Melbourne ~ Australia
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An Unemployment Group called "Going Crazy" was formed in 1988. The facilitators of this group included Margaret Crutch - Family Counsellor at 'Power' Neighbourhood House, Eileen Wertheimer - Co-ordinator of 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood Centre and Honor Beckingham - a Youth Worker with the former Ashburton C.Y.S.S. (now Waverley Skillshare). The Ministry of Housing Estates encompassing the suburbs of Alamein, Ashburton, Jordanville, Ashwood and Waverley areas employed these workers. The "Going Crazy" Unemployment Self-Help Group would meet on the Friday morning of each week at either Ashburton C.Y.S.S., Amaroo Neighbourhood Centre or the Alamein Community Flats. The Group convened in order to provide an environment in which people could discuss the difficulties and issues they experienced as a result of being unemployed. The majority of participants were unemployed; however, parents, family members and others who expressed an interest in attending were welcome to join the Group.Progressively, during the course of the "Going Crazy" sessions, the issue of 'anger' became apparent. It did not centre on the frustrations experienced as a result of being unemployed but also as an issue with which people had general difficulty resolving or dealing with. During this time, two men also approached the Co-ordinator of 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood Centre, Eileen Wertheimer. They told her about the violence that they had perpetrated upon their partners and had come to the point of self awareness where they realised they needed help. The men enquired about the availability of Self-Help Groups for Violent Men within the local area as they both lived in the vicinity of 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood Centre, had few social contacts and public transport was their only form of travel. Eileen made many phone calls and enquiries but soon the realisation dawned on her that there were no such groups to assist violent men being conducted in the immediate areas of Jordanville and Ashwood, which were available by public transport and free of charge. The closest Self-Help Group for Violent Men was on the other side of town in St. Kilda and there was a charge involved; this made it problematic and unaccessible to the men.
Towards the end of 1988, the issue of 'Anger' and 'Domestic Violence' had become the predominant theme that arose in almost every discussion session of "Going Crazy". It was obvious to the facilitators that they had to take action. Various strategies discussed led to a decision to arrange a submission to the Federal Government for a grant to cover the costs of instigating a Domestic Violence Awareness Program in April 1989. This program would be initiated in the Jordanville and Waverley areas and involve people from Alamein, Ashburton, and surrounding areas. Preparations began...In October 1988, Margaret Crutch, Eileen Wertheimer, Mary O'Keeffe - the Executive Officer of the Jordanville Community Committee and a single unemployed male attended a series of films on Domestic Violence that screened at the Melbourne Film Centre. In November 1988, Margaret attended a three day workshop on Domestic Violence run by the Family Counsellors' Association and, whilst on holiday in Hawaii during December 1988 and January 1989, Margaret seized the opportunity to visit a nearby community centre. There, she managed to procure a manual that contained material on how to facilitate a Support Group for Victims of Domestic Violence. She had succeeded in obtaining valuable material that would be useful for inclusion in the funding submission. On her return, Margaret presented it to the working party.
In January 1989, the submission was well underway. Members of the Jordanville Community Committee Inc., Helen Wirtz - a social worker from Chadstone Community Health Centre, Margaret Crutch - Family Counsellor, Mary O'Keeffe - the Executive Officer from the Jordanville Community Committee, and Eileen Wertheimer - Co-ordinator of 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood Centre, worked on the submission. This working party called themselves "People Against Domestic Violence". Over a number of planning sessions, the program, which was to be initiated in April 1989 and coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, was devised. It was to consist of three information sessions chaired by Margaret Crutch and held in St. Mary Magdalen's Primary School Hall, Bolwarra Street in Chadstone. The first session was to commence on Thursday, April 6th at 7:30pm, the subject to be discussed was "The Effects Of Violence On Children". The second session entitled "Legal Issues" was to be held on Tuesday, April 18th at 10:30am and the final session was planned for Thursday, April 27th at 7:30pm and called "Group Discussion For People In Violent Situations".The National Education Program to Reduce Domestic Violence, Office of the Status of Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet received the final submission. It contained specific information relating to the proposals and expenses involved in running the series of three information sessions on Domestic Violence. It also included details of funding required to initiate Self-Help Groups for men and women (the direct result of the interest and support generated from the local community at the public forums); as well as the cost associated with the production and distribution of a small, purse sized-card, containing local information with telephone numbers, to assist women and children seeking immediate help in emergency situations.
During March 1989, the "People Against Domestic Violence" Working Group was disappointed to be informed that their bid for Federal Government funding of the project was unsuccessful. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, they chose to continue with the information sessions planned for April hoping that sufficient money could be acquired from some avenue to pay professional speakers, the rent for the hall and child-care for mothers with young children who wished to attend the sessions. Determined to provide a much needed service to a community which was in serious need of support to assist families living with Domestic Violence, a deputation was formed to approach former Minister for Community Services and then, local Labour member for the area of Jordanville, Mr. Race Matthews, for funding. A duplicate submission was presented to Mr. Matthews in the hope that the Labour Government may have had other sources of funding available which could be acquired for the Domestic Violence Project under the auspice of the Jordanville Community Committee. In the meantime, the printing of the programs for the three information sessions was funded through the joint co-operation of 'Power' Neighbourhood House, 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood Centre and the Waverley City Council. Two hundred programs were hand delivered to every home, school, church, shop, community centre, doctor's surgery, Neighbourhood house etc. by voluntary assistants within the area encompassing Warrigal Road, Waverley Road, Huntingdale Road and Highbury Road.It was important that education and training be undertaken in preparation and anticipation of the possibility of conducting Self-Help Group Sessions. Helen Wirtz - social worker from Chadstone Community Health Centre, and Eileen Wertheimer attended a three day workshop on the issue of Domestic Violence. Margaret Crutch, Eileen Wertheimer, Helen Wirtz and Mary O'Keeffe also visited the Melton Community Health Centre. There they conversed with workers who had conducted Domestic Violence Groups for men and women in the Melton area for some time and a great deal of valuable information was passed on to P.A.D.V. by M.C.H.C. regarding these Domestic Violence Programs.
The series of three information sessions on Domestic Violence was initiated to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in April 1989. All information sessions were held in St. Mary Magdalen's Primary School Hall, Bolwarra Street in Chadstone. The first session commenced on Thursday, April 6th at 7:30pm, the subject for discussion was "The Effects Of Violence On Children". Margaret Crutch acted as chairperson, with guest speakers John Venables from the Domestic and Social Violence Centre and Elizabeth Scott, a family therapist at the Eleanor Nicholson Centre. Emphasis was placed on the fact that violence did not always constitute physical abuse, it also included verbal, social, psychological and economic abuse. A significant number of people attended and many admitted to having experienced at least one of the forms of violence mentioned. The second session entitled "Legal Issues" was held on Tuesday, April 18th at 10:30am. It consisted of a panel of several professionals from the Springvale Legal Centre who presented information on the Crimes (Family Violence) Act and the legal rights of women who had experienced domestic violence. They answered questions and provoked discussion. The final session took place on Thursday, April 27th at 7:30pm and named "Group Discussion For People In Violent Situations". Two speakers from the Community Policing Squad attended and spoke on the issue of police involvement and attitudes towards domestic violence. Also in attendance were two members from the Melton Community Health Centre, Mr. Tom Griffiths, the facilitator of a 'Men's Responsibility Group' and Ms Ronnie Egan, the facilitator of a women's Domestic Violence Support Group. During the course of the evening, a young mother shared her personal experience of having lived in a violent relationship, how she escaped to a Women's Refuge and how she was now coping as a single mother and rearing her child on her own. Information leaflets were made available at each session. People were also asked to indicate whether they were interested in further participation (either through attending a Support Group Program or assisting to organise further functions). A publicity release was delivered to the "Waverley Gazette", a local paper, and, as a result of a reporter being present at the final information session, a feature article was published on the final of the three information sessions. This resulted in a front page spread titled "Warfare on Home Violence" and an editorial in the Wednesday, May 3rd 1989 edition. The article stated that, "For the first time ever there is hope for the victims of domestic violence in the eastern suburbs. The impetus to help female victims of physical and psychological abuse in the home came from public response to three meetings organised by People Against Domestic Violence... representatives of local community and neighbourhood centres."The editorial was similarly supportive, "The fact that domestic violence in the community is being brought out in public is truly heartening. A public meeting, called last week to address the sore and sad aspect of the crime... clearly indicated that with support groups, people are keeping clear boundaries and respect themselves enough to stop any more abuse. The heartening aspect of the meeting was that victims of domestic violence are now acutely aware that they do not need to take it." Information regarding the commencement of the first Support Group for Victims of Domestic Violence Program, indicated that the first session was to be conducted on Friday, 5th May, 1989. The ten week program was run from 'Power' Neighbourhood House, 54 Power Avenue, Ashwood, for two hours per week and facilitated by Margaret and Eileen (whose contact numbers were also published).
There was a huge response by the community to the articles in the "Waverley Gazette". Margaret and Eileen were inundated with enquiries regarding attendance at the women's Support Group, referrals for legal advice, counselling, and numerous other issues connected with domestic violence. All the planning, hard work and determination to proceed, with the information sessions and the initiation of the Support Group for Victims of Domestic Violence, despite lack of proper funding, had been worth the effort. However, there was still a serious question to be addressed... How could the Support Group be maintained as an on-going concern - without regular funding, there may be only one opportunity to run the single Support Group and when that program ceased operation what would be the effects on women who were still experiencing violence in the home but denied access to a service which was no longer in existence?On Friday, 12th May 1989, during the second session of the first Support Group for Victims of Domestic Violence Program, an unexpected letter from the Minister for Community Services, Mr. Peter Spyker, arrived. Mr. Race Matthews had passed on the information supplied to him to Mr. Peter Spyker which resulted in a 'one-off' grant of $3000. This money had been allocated to the Jordanville Community Committee, via the Committee of Management of 'Amaroo' Neighbourhood House, under the 1989 Family Violence Initiatives Fund and was to be used for the costs of initiating Support Groups for Victims of Domestic Violence in the area. With funding assured, at least for the time being, possibilities for future directions were considered. These included the initiation of 'Male Responsibility Groups' and Support Groups for Women and Children; further development of Support Groups for Women; distribution of information leaflets regarding these programs throughout the area of Waverley and surrounding suburbs; accumulation of information and resources (such as books, manuals, reports, newsletters, journal articles, newspaper articles, cassette tapes, videos, hand-out materials etc.) on domestic violence for the basis of a library; and an information manual on how to conduct Domestic Violence Support Groups.
The very first Support Group for Victims of Domestic Violence commenced on Friday, 5th May, 1989. The ten week program was run from 'Power' Neighbourhood House, 54 Power Avenue, Ashwood, for two hours per week and facilitated by Margaret Crutch and Eileen Wertheimer. A total of ten women participated. At the conclusion of the program, an evaluation, based on Community Development principles, was undertaken. "Community development aspires to make sense of the way society works, and it... put[s] forward a vision of how fair and just a society could work if certain disempowering events ceased... it is inductive, and acknowledges and supports people and their view of their social reality. It... aims to enable us to hear the respondents' views of their experiences.. aims for democratic participation and it aims to directly and indirectly empower those involved..."A questionnaire was administered during the final session, the results of which have been documented in a report by Margaret Crutch and Mary O'Keeffe entitled "People Against Domestic Violence: A project concerned with raising the consciousness and evaluating programs for victims of Domestic Violence" (June, 1989). The "Waverley Gazette" printed an article on the 2nd of August, 1989 under the heading of 'Support Group's Success'. In it, Margaret was quoted as saying, "Many women expressed a sense of relief that at last they were among people who really understood what they had, and in some cases, were still going through. The sessions were pretty painful and powerful for them." Eileen also made a similar statement and added, "Domestic Violence Month has ended, but the situation for victims is certainly not forgotten with us." A participant of the program, 'Diane', praised the program by stating, "The program has been miraculous. It has been like a life-line." A booklet containing the thoughts and feelings of the women who participated in the group was produced and, due to the success of the Support Group Program, another course was to be conducted starting on Friday, August 4th 1989.
From 1989 to 1995, Margaret and Eileen have conducted approximately two Support Groups for women victims / survivors of Domestic Violence per year. Over this seven year period, Eileen Vamos, a journalist with the "Waverley Gazette", assisted in providing regular media coverage. This ensured that the public did not dismiss the issue of Domestic Violence and also provided the contact numbers of Margaret and Eileen for women who required further information regarding the programs. Having facilitated Domestic Violence Groups or counselled women in violent situations over a period of several years, it became apparent to Margaret Crutch, Eileen Wertheimer, Christine Barca - Social Worker, and Helen Matthews - Family Support Co-ordinator, that the needs of the children of the adult participants were not being met. They were deeply concerned about the effects on children who witnessed violence between their parents in the home. Many women in previous Support Groups had indicated that their children were, at times, withdrawn, violent, undisciplined and socially isolated. Other problems indicated by parents regarding their children included anger, low self-esteem, anxiety, learning difficulties, bed-wetting and difficult mother-child relationships. The women also found their children's attitudes difficult to understand and, because of this, were reacting badly to them. Children were sometimes experienced as a day-to-day struggle, immediate, stressful, draining and, often when acting up, would elicit feelings of powerlessness in the parent. What these women expressed was that they required support and assistance in parenting their children. A program which catered to the needs of both parent and child would be a step in the right direction and "Surviving the Storm" was born...
The first "Surviving the Storm" Support Group was designed specifically for women and children (aged 6 - 12 years) who had experienced, or were still experiencing, domestic abuse and where the mothers felt seriously concerned about the effects which witnessing domestic violence had on their children. The program was initiated on October 19th, 1994 and ran for ten weeks until December 14th, 1994. The women's group was facilitated by Margaret Crutch and Eileen Wertheimer, and the children's group was facilitated by Helen Matthews - Family Support Co-ordinator, and Christine Barca - Social Worker. Both groups were conducted concurrently and were of one and half hours duration per week. Feminist principles and practices of empowerment were used to focus on issues such as self-esteem, responsibility, power and control, patriarchy and empowerment. Interaction was encouraged between parent and child by allowing half an hour per session for discussion and evaluation of the topics covered. The overall aims of the program were:The success of the pilot "Surviving the Storm" Support Group for women and children prompted another ten week support group program called "Surviving Together". This second program began on Thursday, 23rd March 1995 and its last session was held on Thursday, 1st June, 1995. It was based on the pilot program with a few minor changes. A detailed evaluation report on this group will be produced and available shortly (see the Evaluation of the "Surviving Together" Support Group)In a male dominated world where women's experiences are often defined as inferior, distorted or made invisible, Margaret and Eileen believe that it is essential to allow women to speak about their experiences from their own frames of reference. They oppose common myths and misconceptions which blame women for the violence perpetrated upon them. Margaret and Eileen also see these women as brave survivors of life threatening experiences with great strengths and capacities to adapt to such situations. If it were not for their own courage and conviction to empower women and children through Support Group programs, there would be many, many women and children in Waverley and surrounding areas still trying to cope with the aftermath of domestic violence...