Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Wellsprings for Women

Gary MAAS (Narre Warren South) (14:23): I recently had the pleasure of representing the Minister for Police and the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence at the launch of the Wellsprings for Women’s Be the Voice magazine. Wellsprings for Women was established in 1994 and works to provide support to vulnerable and disadvantaged women in the cities of Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia. Wellsprings for Women work primarily with women from migrant and refugee backgrounds to build their skill sets and their capacity to improve their social, economic and emotional states while raising awareness of family violence, coercive control, sexual assault and early and forced marriage. Wellsprings’ Be the Voice magazine has been established for women by women and will be an invaluable source of information and support for women in my electorate and throughout the south-east. The Be the Voice magazine is a part of Wellsprings’ safety and equality matter project 2.0, which is funded through the state government’s Crime Prevention Strategy building safer communities program and empowering communities partnership in Casey. Wellsprings’ safety and equality matter project raises awareness by developing culturally sensitive and respectful messages across various platforms, and English and multilingual resources are distributed via a range of outlets. Thank you to Dalal Smiley, CEO for Wellsprings for Women. She and her team do an amazing job.