This comes as the Crime Statistics Agency releases new data on family violence in Greater Shepparton, showing there was a 1.5 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
There was a decline in family violence across the state, with more than 1000 fewer incidents from December 2020 to December 2021.
There were also fewer family violence order breaches throughout the state, down from 53,208 to 51,813.
The Orange Door Network is working to keep these numbers down, as it has seen 200,000 people across Victoria access its services since its official launch in 2018.
Orange Door combines services from family violence support, men’s services, First Nations and child and family services, to co-ordinate support for family violence and family wellbeing.
By taking this approach, it means victims of domestic violence don’t have to relive their trauma by retelling their story to various providers.
It also means families can be connected to these services immediately and the long-term effects of family violence are reduced through the support of Orange Door service providers.
There is an immediate demand for services such as Orange Door within the community according to FamilyCare chief executive David Tennant.
“There are very large numbers of people accessing Orange Door and we have had contact with thousands of children over that time. We’re getting used to the volume and we’re working really hard together to make sure that this new system is responsive to those people,” he said.
Mr Tennant said there were various reasons families found themselves struggling and it was also about looking at the bigger picture that drove those actions.
“Our concern and key repeated issue for family care and families we work with, is poverty,” he said.
“We are deeply concerned to understand what is driving that poverty and there are lots of complex reasons including the structures of how we support those people, whether the benefit incomes they receive mean they can live with dignity and whether holding people in poverty we make children less safe as a result.”
Orange Door was rolled out by the Victorian Government in response to the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which recommended a joint service system to improve support to victims.
Out of $3.5 billion of the government’s package for stopping family violence, $448 million was provided for the Orange Door Network to be rolled out across the state, a first for any state in Australia.
Family Violence Prevention Minister Gabrielle Williams said the Orange Door Network would not only help these families, but also give the government an idea about what needed to be done.
“What this model is enabling us to do is to get a more accurate picture of the data; we're able to gather information that we didn't previously have access to so we can get a much better idea of what the demand is,” she said.
“The more we can embed this model in and the more we can encourage people to reach out for the help they need and the more that we can ensure that they're getting that help, the better for everybody.”
If you or anyone who know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Shepparton’s Orange Door on 1800 634 245.
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