Successful applicants announced for Dhelk Dja Family Violence Funds

Over 45 Aboriginal-led initiatives and services will share in the $18.2 million Dhelk Dja Family Violence funding pool, enabling Victorian Aboriginal organisations to deliver culturally appropriate support for Aboriginal victim survivors and people who use violence.

The fund, first announced by the Victorian Government in October last year, provides Aboriginal organisations with funding over two years, giving them greater certainty in planning how they deliver family violence services that are tailored to the needs of their communities.

Funding was provided across four streams:

• Aboriginal frontline family violence services
• Holistic healing
• Preventing the Cycle of Violence
• Aboriginal family violence workforce capacity building

Funded initiatives and services include regionally-based healing and change camps and weekly yarning sessions for Aboriginal victim survivors, and financial counselling support for Aboriginal women wanting to leave unsafe homes. Other funded projects include the delivery of therapeutic services and programs to support Aboriginal children and the development of workforce programs to increase Aboriginal family violence workforce capacity and capability to deliver best practice and culturally safe service responses to clients.

The Dhelk Dja Family Violence Fund launched under the Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families 10 Year Agreement, builds on the Victorian Government’s commitment to embed Aboriginal self-determination in our family violence service system by supporting Aboriginal organisations and communities to implement Aboriginal-led solutions to address family violence.