WIRE Women’s Information Newsletter issue 24 May 2014
HotWIRE #24 In this issue... • • • •
National Volunteers Week 2014 May 12 - 18 Media Spotlight WIRE in the news! Building Brighter Futures Job Ready Program NEW info booklets: ‘Stalking’ & ‘Money problems with your partner? Dealing with financial abuse’ • Poem in Tribute by WIRE Trainee Sasha • WIRE’s APPEAL 2014 Empower A Woman Today! •
• Coming up... • • • • •
Telephone Support Training Orientation sessions - May From Separation to Settlement: Your options Info session - Thu 22 May Dealing with Challenging Phone Calls PD workshop - Wed 11 June Building Brighter Futures Orientation sessions - Wed 18/6 OR Tue 24/6 WIRE’s 30th Birthday Party - Fri 29 August Women’s Information and Referral Exchange Inc. www.wire.org.au
Welcome to HotWIRE Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
What a roller coaster ride we’ve had
At WIRE, we continue to address these issues confronting Victorian women by continuing to provide them with free programs and services:
While the general analysis has not focused on women other than the paid parental leave scheme and changes to family benefit payments, we at WIRE have focused on what this budget really means for women.
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since last week’s announcement of the Federal government budget.
Wide media coverage has been given to the loss of Family Tax Benefit B for women with children over the age of 6 years, and to changes such as the introduction of a $7 co-payment for visiting a GP and other pathology and diagnostic imaging services.
• • •
Weekly Job Coaching sessions AMICA Lunch Club: lunch and activity program for homeless women Basic computer skills classes (for social networking or job seeking) Legal clinics on family law including property and financial settlement Support, information and referrals for women by phone, email, LiveChat, website and face-to-face on any concern
However, less media attention has been given to the equally significant increases in co-payments for medicines: $5 increase to $42.70 for the general public, and 80 cents’ increase to $6.90 for those eligible for concessions. These increases will certainly affect all women, especially those who have left family violence relationships and are struggling to re-establish themselves.
This year we have developed new programs and new partnerships with other service providers to meet emerging needs:
Further more, the proposal to increase the future retirement age to 70 will certainly impact women many of whom are already struggling financially.
As WIRE keeps advocating for additional funding and changes to legislature and community standards, we know we’re not alone. We’re grateful for the amazing work and support from our dedicated volunteers, partners, members, donors and funders. Your support enables WIRE to keep working with and empowering women in Victoria. So thank you all very much!
As we know only too well, woman in Australia still earn 17.5 per cent less than men – a difference of about $262.50 per week – and women still face significant age and gender barriers to employment. As women get older, they are already less likely to have secure employment and sufficient savings for a financially secure retirement.
The proposed increase in retirement age to 70 years would really mean that older women who are unable to find employment are likely to be forced to survive on lower benefits – Newstart – for three more years before accessing their pension.
• • • •
Craft and English conversation sessions for asylum seekers Property legal clinics (One-off free advice on property issues related to separation) Building Brighter Futures (17-week employment program for women with disability or chronic health condition) Information session ‘From separation to settlement: Your options’
So if you know someone who would like to get involved at WIRE, please forward this email to them so they can • • • •
Donate to WIRE’s ‘Empower A Woman’ Appeal 2014 Become a WIRE member Volunteer at WIRE Be a monthly WIRE donor
Many thanks in anticipation! Warm wishes CEO Samiro Douglas
More and more women are accessing WIRE because they can’t get the support they need from already stretched family violence services and/or they are single older women who are already facing hardship and homelessness without these new proposals.
Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
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Thank You WIRE Volunteers!
We can’t imagine Victoria without you. 2014 marks 30 years of WIRE volunteers empowering women in Victoria. This week, we celebrate your amazing work as volunteers empowering Victorian women. WIRE Women’s Information, like many community services around Australia, is only able to provide the quality services they do because of the dedication and passion of volunteers. Acting WIRE CEO Julie Kun said, ‘Volunteers are often unseen and unappreciated. They do what they do because they care about the community and want the world to be a better place. ‘This year’s National Volunteers Week is especially relevant as we celebrate 30 years of WIRE volunteers empowering women to reach their full potential. We pay tribute to our volunteers at WIRE for the time they have so selflessly given up to support and empower the women of Victoria.’ Last year, 70 WIRE Phone Support Volunteers spent 6,881 hours of their time (equivalent of 3.5 full-time paid positions and $245,000 worth of service delivery) informing, supporting and giving referrals to over 12,000 women across Victoria on issues including: • • • • • •
Family violence and relationship difficulties Stalking, abuse or bullying Financial hardship Getting legal advice Dealing with mental health issues Finding work or training options.
Thank you Lush for your kind gifts of products for our WIRE volunteers!
Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
Phone support volunteers are only part of the story. WIRE Women’s Information has volunteers who are • • •
Computer Tutors Job Coaches Lawyers running one-on-one women’s legal clinics on family law and/or property law • Administrative and IT volunteers assisting WIRE staff in the Information Centre and the office • Board Members working on the WIRE Board of Governance We even have a handy woman who provides free office maintenance every month! By working with volunteers, WIRE continues to be a community service for women run by women, while offering voluteers rewarding experiences, which for many lead to employment and further education. ‘I love that I can transform distressed women in often confronting, difficult situations into calmer, hopeful and usually very grateful people, using the resources, learned skills and constant support that WIRE offers,’ said WIRE Volunteer Megan. Thank you for your dedication, time and skills listening to and supporting women in Victoria. Thank you for helping women to stay safe and feel respected, valued and heard. Thank you for informing and empowering women so they are free to make genuine choices in their lives. Most importantly, thank you for sharing our vision and making a real difference in the lives of thousands of women.
Happy National Volunteers Week!
Thank you Digger’s Club for your kind gifts of seeds for our WIRE volunteers!
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WIRE IN THE SPOTLIGHT! Melbourne Leader (p.9) 12 May 2014 Janet’s hardwired to help out by Nic Price leader.newspaperdirect.com
Daily Life 2 May 2014 Support victims of domestic abuse this Mother’s Day #shinealight www.dailylife.com.au
The Sunday Age (p.12) 27 April 2014 Too few havens for those at risk (print)/ The brutal price of domestic violence (online) by John Elder www.theage.com.au
Women’s Agenda19 March 2014 Why financial abuse is a form of domestic violence. by Prue Cameron www.womensagenda.com.au
Daily Life 16 February 2014 Digital abuse is the new frontier of domestic violence by Clem Bastow www.dailylife.com.au
Bendigo Advertiser 28 February 2014 Financial abuse is about power and control by Nicole Ferrie www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au
Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
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BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES Job Ready Course for Women
Building Brighter Futures is an employment program for women with a disability or chronic health issues. WIRE has partnered with BAWN Training Organisation to provide a 17-week women’s only employment course with a difference at our WIRE office in West Melbourne. The course is funded by the Victorian Training Guarantee which means that as long as women match the funding criteria they can attend for free. The course is now in its ninth week and within that time the 12 participants have made friends, and learnt about themselves and job seeking. WIRE has watched the participants grow in confidence and we have learnt a lot from their stories of courage, strength and resilience. The beauty of the course, besides being only for women, is that it also encourages open and free discussion of gender barriers and issues that women face when finding and maintaining employment. Employment is a gendered issue—women are more vulnerable to unemployment due to absences from the labour force to take on caring responsibilities. Women also generally feel less comfortable than men with promoting themselves in an interview situation. Any woman can be perceived as being less skilled for a position for no other reason than they are a woman. This Job Ready Course not only acknowledges the gender barriers to paid work that women face, it also supports women and works with them to build their confidence. Such all rounded support helps women to persevere and move forward with their job search. Due to popular demand, we plan to run this course again at WIRE commencing July or August 2014. Visit www.wire.org.au/event/buildingbrighterfutures for details.
Are you an Australian resident or citizen? Have no Australian qualifications above a Certificate IV? Have a chronic illness or disability? If you’ve answered YES to all, then come to an orientation session to find out more!
ORIENTATION: 10am–11am Wed.18 June OR Tue. 24 June 2014 WIRE 372 Spencer Street, West Melbourne
For details, please email Julie Kun jkun@wire.org.au or call 9348 9416 (option 8) Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
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NEW WIRE Information Booklets Money problems with your partner? Dealing with financial abuse ‘He controlled the money. I had to account for every cent I spent.’ ‘He said I was hopeless with money and that I should trust him.’ ‘When we got married I had some savings, a job and a car. The marriage is over and I’ve got nothing.’ ‘I don’t care about the money. I just want to feel safe, get away and start again.’ WIRE’s new information booklet helps women deal with money & relationship problems. Completed after months of research, WIRE’s new 16-page A5 info booklet is written in plain English to help women in Victoria better understand their experience of financial abuse, and learn ways they can get back control of their money and their lives. Read online | Download PDF
Information Booklet
Stalking
Kindly funded by the Victoria Law Foundation. Published in March 2014
Stalking ‘It’s my fault.’ ‘Stalkers are usually strangers.’ ‘My ex-partner stalks me because he loves me.’ Myths like this stop women from getting the information and support they need. Stalking is a crime that affects 1 in 10 Australian adults with women making up 75 per cent of stalking victims. Stalking can be physical as well as through the use of technology(cyber stalking) and the majority of victims are pursued by someone they know - very often an ex-partner.
FUNDED BY THE LORD MAYOR’S CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
WIRE Women’s Information Helping women make the right connections
Read online | Download PDF
This 12-page WIRE ‘Stalking’ information booklet helps women understand what stalking is and learn how to keep safe and deal with a stalking situation. It also dispels some myths about stalking and why it happens. Kindly funded by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. Published in December 2013.
Order your printed copies now! • Call 1300 134 130 • Email a completed order form to communication@wire.org.au • Fax a completed order form to (03) 9328 8950 For a list of WIRE publicatons visit www.wire.org.au/publications. For details and enquiries, please email communication@wire.org.au or call Mi Fon Lew (03) 9348 9416 (#5).
Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
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A poem by our WIRE Telphone Support Trainee Sasha who has kindly agreed to share it with you! WIRE I feel the strength and resilience – The dream for something different – In this room WIRE, Women’s Information Provides a voice on the other end of the telephone line, An email answer or a friendly face – 13, 000 women get in contact every year WIRE, Women’s Information You can drop in to our info centre, Call, email or chat online. We have different needs Different requests for information But the respect and affirmation The compassion and lack of judgement Won’t change on the other end of the telephone line. WIRE, Women’s Information Affirms our autonomy as women Affirms the right to choose, the right to freedom, Our inherent dignity and the right To safety and respect Since 1984, we’ve worked to end judgement against women For our lived experience and circumstances We Work to challenge the inevitability of control and violence That we are told in society is natural and unchangeable We advocate for change, The highest proportion of calls we answer relate to domestic violence, Followed by calls about relationships, housing, employment and mental health We have different needs Newsletter issue 24 (May 2014)
Different requests for information But the respect and affirmation The compassion and lack of judgement Won’t change on the other end of the telephone line. WIRE, Women’s Information A group of women is seen as dangerous We’re told we gossip: Undermine our fathers and brothers and husbands Women sharing information is seen as a threat To the status quo And we are. At WIRE, Women’s Information We listen. At WIRE, Women’s Information We share Information and referrals to services We share information through interpreters, through free workshops On financial literacy, employment, wellness, economic security WIRE’s bulletin goes out via email every month WIRE, Women’s Information A group of women is seen as a threat To the status quo And we are. We are here to say to women who contact us you are not alone. We are the experts of our own stories We have different needs Different requests for information But the respect and affirmation The compassion and lack of judgement Won’t change on the other end of the telephone line. WIRE: the Women’s Information Referral Exchange Trains volunteer telephone support workers I feel the strength and resilience – The dream for something different – In this room. 7
COMING SOON... EVENTS Info session: From separation to settlement: Your options. Book now!
Thur 22 May
Phone Support Workers Training Orientation Sessions. Call 1300 134 130
May
PD Workshop: Dealing with challenging phone calls. Book now!
Wed 11 June
Wed 18/6 OR Tue 24/6 Orientation sessions: Building Brighter Futures program. Call 9348 9416 (#8) Fri 29 August
WIRE’s 30th Birthday Party Details coming soon! 7pm - 12am@ Berth Function Centre (upstairs), 45 Newquay Promenade, Docklands
FREE WEEKLY PROGRAMS Mondays
11am–1pm
Job Coaching sessions. Book now!
Tuesdays
11am–1pm
Basic computer classes for women. Call 9348 9416 (#2)
Wednesdays
11am–1pm
Asylum seekers computer classes. Call 9348 9416 (#2)
Tues/Weds/Thurs
11.30am–3pm
Thurs (Monthly)
by appointment
Family law legal clinics (not property law). Call 9348 9416 (#8)
Fridays
by appointment
Family & property/financial law legal clinics. Call 9348 9416 (#8)
AMICA Women’s Lunch Club. Call 9348 9416 (#2)
For details /bookings, please call 9348 9416 (Option 2), email inforequests@wire.org.au or visit www.wire.org.au
WIRE APPEAL 2014
2014 Appeal Donation Form Yes, I’d like to empower a woman today! I’ll... Donate $215* What it costs for 1 Phone Volunteer to be trained for a day
Donate $75* What it costs for 1 woman to attend a free Job Coaching session
EMPOWER A WOMAN TODAY! “For the first time in my life I feel whole. Despite the counselling I’ve had over the years, my experiences at WIRE have actually led to a physical, emotional & spiritual healing that I’ve not found anywhere else.” Joan* *Name changed for confidentiality and privacy reasons.
Last year WIRE supported and empowered over 12,000 Victorian women to take control of their lives. Donate to WIRE’s 2014 Appeal.
www.wire.org.au/appeal2014 Make a real difference in a woman’s life and help women like Joan.
Donate $20* what it costs for 1 woman to attend a free Computer Class
Other, please specify $ ______ (*All donations above $2 are tax-deductible.)
Payment by: Enclosed cheque/ money order (Payable to WIRE) Mastercard Visa Card Name on Card: ________________________________ Card No.: _______ / ______ / _______/ ______ / Expiry Date: ____ / _____ Signature: ____________________ Date: __________ Address: _____________________________________ Post Code: ___________ Mobile: _________________ Email: ________________________________________ Please mail to WIRE 372 Spencer St,West Melbourne 3003/ F:9328 8950
Thank you!
Published May 2014 Copright of Women’s Information and Referral Exchange Inc. ABN 98 957 157 895 Reg. No. A122
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