Tina* and her three children were referred into Haven House Ruth (SHINE) built in 2023 through a partnership between Property Industry Foundation, Saltair Modular and The Salvation Army, by DVCONNECT. This was due to experiencing Family and Domestic Violence in North Queensland. Tina and her children had experienced compounding traumatic experiences and intergenerational trauma.
Upon entering Haven House Ruth Tina identified her main goals were to increase the safety of herself and her children, and secure safe and stable long-term housing.
Tina was supported with on-going safety planning and assessment of risks, she enrolled her children into day care and school, and she made positive social connections. In addition, Tina had a referral to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for support with mental health, wellbeing and financial counselling Accessing trauma informed yoga, to which Tina advised – ‘when I commenced trauma yoga, which I have never experienced before or heard about, I didn’t know it could make such a positive impact on my mind and body’.
Relinquishing her social housing in North Queensland and re-registering in an area of her choosing was a big deal for Tina, along with advocacy for allocation of a new social housing property. She successfully accessed the Ending Violence Payment (EVP) through Uniting Care to improve her financial situation.
Tina also successfully accessed funding through the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) which allowed her to purchase a vehicle to increase her independence, and she was referred to an early parenting support service for assistance and parenting.
Tina commenced a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) to further her opportunities in the workplace and to give back to her community, and she was allocated brokerage funding to assist with her achievement of the above goals.
The outcomes for Tina were an increase in safety for herself and her children, increased independence through secure housing, financial independence, access to her own vehicle and access to study options with the goal of entering the workforce.
Tina and her three children were offered transitional housing through a community organisation, which has helped provide stability, security and create a safe space to assist the family in their journey to healing from Family and Domestic Violence and to move forward with their lives.
About Haven House Ruth:
Haven House Ruth (SHINE) is safe and welcoming three-bedroom home on the Sunshine Coast, designed to accommodate women and their children escaping domestic violence for The Salvation Army. The home was built by Saltair Modular – award-winning designers and builders who provide Queensland families with innovative, quality modular home designs. Other supporters and suppliers of Haven House Ruth include Build-Apps, King Living and Milliken.
*Name changed to protect privacy
