Fostering a community free from family violence across the lifespan would not be possible without people like Ali.
Ali is one of our dedicated clinicians working within our Keeping Families Safe Program, committed to improving the behaviours of young people who may be using violence at home.
Working closely with parents, carers, family members and young people aged 12-18, Ali supports families in building a shared environment where everyone has a space to feel safe and be themselves.
“I chose to move into this role to challenge myself further,” says Ali.
“Although many of our referrals are to engage the young person who uses violence in the home, and to provide support to their families and carers, it has proven useful to have the ability to adapt theory and approaches used in the victim space to this work.”
“Many of our young people have been exposed to violence at an early age themselves and are therefore victims first before they become the aggressor,” she adds.
To assist in the prevention of family violence, the program provides one-on-one short to medium-term interventions, based on the needs of the young person or family referred.
“We use varied modalities and theoretical approaches to engage and achieve best outcomes for the young person and their families,” explains Ali. “We are then able to encourage the young person to improve their behaviours, strengthen family relationships and increase overall safety in the home.”
Peninsula Health was one of the first three health services in Victoria to establish the Keeping Families Safe Program as part of the Specialist Adolescent Family Violence in the Home pilot project in 2015. The program now serves the entire Mornington Peninsula region, and has expanded to include the Bayside suburbs.
For more information, including details on how to access the program, see Keeping Families Safe Program.
If you, or someone you know, is affected by family violence, you can call 1800 RESPECT, which is open 24/7. In an emergency, please call 000.
This post was written to support 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.