About Us

OUR HISTORY

St George Women’s Housing Inc. began in February 1985 and for many years was funded as supported transitional housing for women and children. As a result of funding changes in 2015 under the “Going Home Staying Home” reforms, the original transitional housing service was not renewed. Instead, the service was reformed and refunded to operate as Moving Forward, to provide specialist domestic violence case management services for women and children. We are funded under NSW Department of Communities and Justice as a specialist domestic and family violence service with homelessness funding.

OUR VALUES

We believe in providing a safe working environment. Our specialised, skilled and experienced staff members are our greatest asset. We provide services for LGBTIQ+ and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and always value the beliefs and choices of our clients first and foremost.

OUR VISION

A life free of domestic violence

WHAT WE DO

Moving Forward is a specialist case management service for children and women who are experiencing, escaping or have left domestic and family violence. We assist them in living safe and fulfilling lives, and always operate our case management through trauma informed and strength-based practices.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

There is no specific eligibility criteria for individuals who have experienced domestic and family violence to access our services.

OUR STAFF

Our staff are highly skilled in case management with women and children who are experiencing or escaping domestic and family abuse. Over the years we have built strong relationships with a wide range of government and non-government services. We understand the complex range of services and supports that women and children facing domestic and family abuse often need, and are able to assist clients in accessing these and navigating other services. Staff have formal qualifications in Psychology, Social Work, Counselling and Developmental Trauma. All Moving Forward staff have expertise in trauma informed practice.

OUR BOARD MEMBERS

The Moving Forward board members bring diverse experiences and are from an array of different cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal. With many years of expertise in domestic and family violence, counselling, homelessness, education, legal, finance and the arts, our board is passionate about supporting clients and staff with the best care possible.

CLIENT STORIES

“When I escaped my DV relationship in 2016, I struggled with day to day activities, like getting up to go to work. I took myself to the doctors who were not helpful or supportive at all. I took myself to 3 different counsellors who again, were not helpful or supportive at all. It wasn’t until my court liaison officer found the 6 week program at Moving Forward that I was able to find support that was directly specialised in DV cases, which also suited my hours of work. I couldn’t take any more time off work and there is not one single other facility that has after-hours support groups, or counsellors in the western suburbs or in Sydney CBD.

The 6 week course taught me that I am not alone, for the first time in 8 months I had a group of people who were there to listen to me and support me. I learnt the vicious cycles of domestic violence, how people get themselves into these situations and that I wasn’t the one to blame for it, as that was told to me constantly. I learnt how to talk to people around me not just about what I had been through but also what I was and wasn’t comfortable talking about (boundaries). I was also supported closely though court dates and my down moments. Lastly I have learnt to put myself first, I learnt to take time out for myself, was given ideas of ‘me time’ activities and I have learnt to control my hypervigilance which increased my anxiety and caused me severe exhaustion.”

Lauren (not real name)

“I fled and went to a refuge with my 2 small children, Moving Forward helped me so much with referrals to other helpful organisations. They kept touching base with me to make sure I was okay, asking if there was anything I needed support with. I was helped with clothing and toys for my children, cleaning products and toiletries, car seat for my son as he was getting too big to fit in the one I had. I was also assisted with vouchers that helped a lot it was great to know that I could get whatever help and support I needed. If Moving Forward could not directly help with a need they were great at finding the right place to get it from. I’m so very grateful for all the help and support I have received, it would have been so much harder on us without Moving Forward.”

Zoya (not real name)

“Moving Forward have been my best source of support over the last 5 months as my life has improved considerably because of their help. Over the last five months Moving Forward have helped me with:

– Housing – Housing NSW applications, applying for properties and moving.
– Cleaning products for cleaning before moving in.
– Provided me with food items that filled my pantry and I was finally able to eat better.
– A 6 week domestic violence course.
– Moral support; everyone in the office from Admin to the manager have taken time out for me.
– Arranged counselling through Victims Services when Medicare sessions ran out.
– Coles gift card to help with groceries.
– Support letters for Centrelink when unable to cope with looking for work because of life situations
– Held a meeting for me with some of my other support services so everyone was on the same page.”

Meg (Not real name)

OUR SPONSORS

YOUR HELP CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

DONATE NOW