Round 1 - Grant Recipients
Run Against Violence allocated $45,000 for Round 1 of the Love Bites Grants program. Applications closed July 2021.
The focus of this round was to fund the training of Love Bites facilitators in communities where the cost of training facilitators is a barrier to building up or sustaining the Love Bites program.
Two Grant categories were created: Major Projects and Individuals.
NAPCAN promoted the Grants program to their database and individuals and organisations were invited to apply. More than $100,000 of applications were received for the $45,000 available.
Applications were received from Queensland, NSW, Northern Territory, and Western Australia and covered metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote communities.
The RAV Committee applied five key criteria to prioritise the applications. Those criteria were:
Practical impact
Opportunity to implement
Regional and State diversity
Genuinely no other way of funding
Contributions that they have already made to their community/education
As a result of the selection process, $35,900 has been allocated to the major projects category and $9,100 to the individual category.
GRANTS RECIPIENTS ‘MAJOR PROJECTS’ CATEGORY
Name: Noelene Jorgensen
Location: One Tree Community Services, Wadeye NT
Grant Approved: $12,000
Wadeye is a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, with approximately 2500 people. The community and its peoples have a history of intergenerational trauma and as a result domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) is significant. According to local police reports, there were 722 reports of domestic violence in 2019.
Since 2019, NAPCAN has worked alongside Wadeye community organisations to develop a culturally- and context-sensitive model for supporting a whole-of-community approach to respectful relationship education.
A key feature of the program is to educate locally-based, influential adult community members, parents and caregivers so they can organically disseminate Love Bites concepts through to their widespread families, in a manner that is culturally appropriate and respectful and utilises their primary language – Murrinhpatha.
Run Against Violence is supporting this initiative through funding a week of consultation and training within the community.
Learning from Wadeye will also be used to assist other remote communities. It will enable NAPCAN to further develop a remote delivery framework for their Respectful Relationship Programming and trialling of modules in a remote context will make localisations for other communities easier to progress.
Name: Karen Beetson
Location: NSW Health: SWSLHD Aboriginal Health
Grant Approved: $9000
This funding is dedicated to modifying Love Bites for young people within the aboriginal communities of South-West Sydney. The modification process includes multiple phases. Run Against Violence is funding a three-day workshop that will allow up to 20 participants to undertake a general trauma-informed Love Bites program delivery and provide direct feedback and input during the training. These insights will be used to inform the changes to the Love Bites program to address the needs of local youth.
The additional trauma-informed element of this training is suitable for staff in areas where they are likely to be working with young people who have already experienced trauma and supports the mindful delivery of the program while being trauma aware and healing informed.
Trainees working in a therapeutic setting also gain access to NAPCAN’s Love Bites standalone Modules, designed in the Northern Territory, for use where the full Love Bites program is not appropriate. They are one-off sessions for use in out-of-school contexts such as detention centres, youth diversion, residential care and outreach programs.
RAV considers this a strategically important initiative for the adaption of the Love Bites program for Aboriginal communities.
Name: Jodi Gosztyla
Location: Gilmore College, Kiwana, WA
Grant Approved: $6,500
Gilmore College is a large school of 1300 students, located within a low socio-economic community that has a high rate of domestic and family violence.
Gilmore College would like to establish a “whole-of-school” approach to respectful relationship education to break the cycle of intergenerational violence within the community.
Historically, the College has delivered the Love Bites program with excellent outcomes including students recognising acceptable and unacceptable behaviours within relationships, and a willingness to reach out and ask for help. The program has also equipped teachers to respond to violence more effectively within the school environment.
Since establishing the Love Bites program, Gilmore College has struggled to raise sufficient funds to train teachers and community service members. As a result, program delivery has been sporadic and currently only one teacher is qualified to deliver the program.
Run Against Violence will fund the training of 10 facilitators.
Name: Kristy Paskin
Location: Blackwater High School, Queensland
Grant Approved: $2,600
Rates of domestic and family violence have risen within the Blackwater community in recent years.
Blackwater High School would like to introduce Love Bites as part of a pastoral care program to improve social-emotional wellbeing, communication skills and understanding of respectful relationships among students.
Blackwater High School then aims to expand the Love Bites program into the local community through their partnership with the Blackwater PCYC and local primary schools.
Run Against Violence wishes to support the whole-of-community, co-ordinated approach being developed by Blackwater High School and will fund the training of four facilitators.
GRANT RECIPIENTS ‘INDIVIDUAL’ CATEGORY
Queensland
Katrina Weathered, Mackay North High School
This funding covers 3 x Love Bites Facilitator Training and 3 x Love Bites Junior Facilitator Training to support the creation of a whole-of-school approach.
Leah Pollock-Grant, Australia Trade College North Brisbane
We support and encourage Leah’s solo commitment to educating all students at the Trade College
Ben Wharton, Mt Gravatt (PCYC)
We were impressed by Ben’s commitment to expanding Love Bites to schools within the area where there is strong demand for the program
Patricia Lisle, Gladstone (Gladstone Women’s Health Centre)
We support and encourage expanding the program within the Gladstone community and are pleased to see the applicant’s willingness to part-fund the initiative
Stephanie Waite, Chinchilla (Dept of Ed QLD)
We support the ‘whole of school’ approach being adopted and are matching applicant’s commitment
New South Wales
Valerie Schmiz-Oke, Bega Valley (Far South Coast Family Support Service)
We are funding this application as a regional priority and opportunity for the community to gain access to Love Bites Junior
Torin Hando, Parkes (Neighbourhood Central Parkes)
We support and encourage Torin’s commitment to expanding Love Bites throughout the Central West NSW communities
Alice McCourt, Turramurra (Turramurra High School)
We support the establishment of Love Bites at the high school and appreciate the effort Alice has already put into making this happen
Georgina Saunders, Orange (Youth Care Link)
We support and encourage Georgina’s commitment to social work throughout rural and remote NSW
Jordan Smith, Tamworth (Tamworth Family Support Service)
We acknowledge and support Jordan’s commitment to social work throughout rural and remote NSW
Summer Kassir, Orange (Housing Plus)
Housing Plus have been at the leading edge of improving outcomes for women and children escaping violence. We wish to support and acknowledge that hard work through funding Summer’s training
Martin Paice, Dubbo (NSW Police – Western Region)
We wanted to recognise and support Martin’s commitment to family violence prevention in the Western Region
Luke Goudge, Dubbo (TAFE Dubbo)
We support and encourage Luke’s commitment to expanding the availability of Love Bites through the TAFE network within his region
Meggy Stevens, Taree (Hunter New England Health)
We are funding the training of two Aboriginal facilitators from the Biripi and Worimi nations
Mohammed Yarob Haddad, Coffs Harbour (North Coast Settlement Services)
We support and encourage Mohammed’s commitment to translate and deliver Love Bites for people with a refugee background
Tori Donnelly, Port Macquarie (Mid North Coast Local Health District)
We acknowledge and support Tori’s commitment to her community in her role as a sexual assault counsellor and wish to contribute to her ongoing professional development