I’m Anyce, the new family worker here at Bonnie’s. In my role, I help women and children who are escaping domestic violence find safety, freedom and a better life.  Even though I’m only a few weeks into the job, it feels like I’ve been doing…

I am not a person who always likes change, but this year has been different. Earlier this year I moved out of my beloved house that I’ve owned for years, and now I’m moving again.  In my case, I am fortunate that there are many…

It was 1996 and Diane was just 21 when she first started working at Bonnie’s. During her time there she saw Bonnie Women’s Refuge, a small grassroots feminist collective, begin to transition into the community organisation Bonnie Support Services is today. Lisabel Zoomed in with…

Hi Bonnie’s Blog readers,  This is my first blog, so I thought I’d introduce myself: I’m Georgia, a member of the DVRE and Covid Response team at Bonnie Support Services. I didn’t always work with women or in social work, I was actually in hospitality…

This blog was written in reflection on our Happiness Is… campaign. A series of illustrations that celebrate  the seemingly ‘small’ but powerful moments women experience when they are free from domestic violence. Read Program Manager An’s, Happiness Is… moment below: Every morning, I’m always rushing. I…

My first client here at Bonnie’s was an experience I will never forget, a young mum with three children who had escaped an abusive marriage. When I first met this particular family, mum was clearly overwhelmed. She was stressed, she was tired. She had lived…

It was New Year’s Eve 2021 and I was at work when I got the call that my Dad was in the hospital. The doctors had tried everything, and it wasn’t looking good – at that moment all I wanted to do was go home…

Face to Face Creative Space is back! Ruth, my co-facilitator and I are so excited that after 2 hard years of trying to run this group during COVID lockdowns and restrictions we can finally be in each others  physical presence again.  The Creative Space is…

Here at Bonnie’s, I’m the person who approves brokerage requests from my colleagues for the families they are working with. This means my team of workers will pop by, or write to me requesting anything their family needs. The requests range from social connections, removalist,…

  12 months seems like a long time to help a woman to safety from domestic violence but it’s not. Not when abuse has existed in their families for years, even decades. As a caseworker, it’s my job to do everything to help break this cycle….

Growing up in my hometown was pretty dreamy. It’s a coastal town, where weekends were always at the beach. You know, sunbaking, swimming, maybe even snorkeling but surfing? Nah…that was for the boys.   It’s no secret surfing is traditionally dominated by men. It’s better…

  My name is Peta, I am a Gooreng Gooreng / Kabi Kabi woman and also one of the Family Workers here at Bonnie’s. These last two years have been tough on all of us with this COVID going on!  For me the journey has…

  I’ve found these last few months of mothering hard. Mostly because I’ve had to be more than a Mum, and a wife, a daughter and a Bonnie’s family worker – I’ve also had to be a teacher.    In this last year, mothers everywhere…

  I grew up in Zimbabwe and there is no place like Bonnie’s over there.  I still remember my Mum telling me about a time she wrote to a famous Zimbabwean magazine column asking for help because of how my Dad was treating her. She…

  The Taliban are back. As I sit in my living room, the TV blaring, my pregnant belly kicking, I can’t believe I am seeing my parent’s nightmares become a reality, again. I might never be able to go back to Afghanistan- back to my…