Bonnie Support Services

Bonnie Support Services
November 24, 2017

We all need laughter

‘If you don’t laugh, you will cry.’ This is something I probably repeat to myself on a daily basis. I’m lucky to share my office with two people who I can laugh and joke with very comfortably. They see me on my good days and my bad days. Sometimes, on a difficult day, a simple […]

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November 13, 2017

A Parenting Success Story!

One of my colleagues at Bonnie’s, Babs, has two children aged 9 and 5 and a shift-working husband… Babs is a Family Worker and, like many parents juggling multiple commitments, she is a hardworking woman prone to giving herself a hard time. A few months ago, Babs arrived at work, upset, after a chaotic and […]

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October 30, 2017

It’s a Choice

In the field of domestic and family violence work, we refer to people who CHOOSE to use violence as a form of power and control over others as perpetrators. Because it is a choice. A perpetrator of domestic/family violence is 100% responsible for their choice to use violence and abuse against others. It can be […]

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October 27, 2017

Living feminism

I come from Vietnam. When I sit around the table with my family there, we talk about the day-to-day struggles faced by the poor, such as finding work and health care. In a world where many people’s basic needs are not being met, who has time to talk about feminism? Many of the women we […]

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October 13, 2017

Finding refuge at work

I came to Bonnie’s as a temp having been retrenched.  I thought I only needed work but the universe taught me otherwise, that I needed the refuge of Bonnie’s too and how wonderful Bonnie’s is at supporting all who walk through its doors. Many who have been retrenched will know the ‘your job no longer […]

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September 28, 2017

How can acting help overcome homelessness

Who We Are A poem by Milk Crate Theatre Participant, Pauline Trenerry ​ We are hoarders, hiders, helpers, keepers of knowledge. Experts in cheap meals, low fares/no fares, St Vinnies, Missionbeat, the Salvos. Multitudes who parties ignore Chained to Centrelink, psychiatrists, social services held in boxes labelled Bludgers, Disabled, The Unemployed Moved on, pissed on, […]

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September 22, 2017

Skills to Learn

I first came to Bonnie’s as a student and one of the things I love about working here is the emphasis on learning. I have never worked for an organisation that encourages self-development like Bonnies does. Not only am I learning something new from my colleagues every day but I am encouraged to attend as […]

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September 18, 2017

Behaviour change app for men

Bonnie’s works with women and children who have experienced violence and abuse. However there are many organisations that work with male perpetrators of domestic violence. Some programs aimed at changing the violent behaviour of men toward their partners are having significant success. According to research by Monash University and Violence Free families, 65 per cent […]

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September 8, 2017

The power of love

Love is a powerful influence in our lives. But, as I have found, writing about love is not an easy thing to do. People have so many different experiences that shape their perspective on what love means to them. Love comes in all different shapes and sizes: romantic love; the love of a child; the […]

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August 24, 2017

Why has this happened to me?

Those of us working in the field of domestic and family violence frequently hear survivors ask self-blaming questions such as: “Why did he do this to me?” and “Why does this keep happening to me?”. Helping survivors make sense of their experiences is part of the work we do. The most important point is that […]

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August 17, 2017

We belong

I grew up in a small town in Tasmania, as part of a Lebanese family… Being different is hard work when you’re a kid. Not only did I look different, but my family was different, my food was different and my culture and beliefs were different. Been teased was part of the daily ritual at […]

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August 11, 2017

Domestic Violence Leave

Domestic Violence Leave is an issue of relevance to all of us. When you consider that one in three women experiences physical violence by the age of 15, and one in five experiences sexual violence, and that an average of one woman per week is murdered by a current, or former, intimate partner, it is […]

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