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…

  There’s a lot of things to miss right now – friends, family, travelling outside my LGA, travelling outside my state… travelling anywhere.  But what I’m really missing at the moment is food. And not just food itself (I’m definitely not starving), but rather the experience…

  “Do people speak up when they hear or see violence? Or do they just turn a blind eye and pretend it’s not their business?”  After working in DV for so long, I still ask myself these questions. Despite all the new TV shows, podcasts…

  Working with women for women was a big change from one of my previous careers where I worked as an Administrative Assistant to the Financial Controller of an International Property & Investment company. While that job was a good experience, working on the frontline…

  As a case worker, supporting women with children who are fleeing domestic violence comes with many emotions. Walking alongside a family and being part of their journey and witnessing small wins along the way is what keeps me going. Whenever I get asked what…

Recently a family who were moving to Queensland arrived at our doors to donate some of their kids toys and baby goods. During the visit, the father said he was a barber and he would be happy to donate haircuts to the children. A family…

 I once read a quote by Vincent Van Gogh that said, “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” Being a Child and Youth (CYW) worker means no two days are the same. On the surface, what…

Marryanne’s Mission to Find Out What’s Missing   In light of the latest devastating murders of two women, we need to ask ourselves, what can we do so that women don’t fall through the gaps in services and care? What changes can we make so…