Hi all

I am really glad to be part of this trek to Kokoda and the effort to help end family violence.

We often think of family violence as physical violence. But it is more than this. Family violence is controlling behaviour that scares, hurts and humiliates.

Windermere assists victims of family violence by providing support and the means to gain access to resources that help make their lives better and safer. Services range from counselling to packages to access items such as a new home security system. Last year, frighteningly, over ten families every week came to Windermere for counselling services for violence or sexual assault. As a new dad, I hate to think of the ongoing effects that family violence has on young kids and the trauma it causes.

The folks at Windermere also aim to get in early to reduce the potential for family violence. They teach young people about respectful relationships and how to recognise the early signs of a potentially harmful one. Part of this involves giving young people the knowledge and skills to recognise and build solid, safe and positive relationships in which people are treated equally and considerately.

Kokoda preparation

Half of our team hiked the very steep Glasgow Track in Mount Dandenong on Sunday 3 June. Given we have team members interstate and all of us are fitting in our training around work and family commitments, this was a great turn out.

Our next team training day is scheduled for late July. The team training days are great opportunities to meet up, but everyone is also working towards their individual training goals*. As we head into the wetter, winter weather there is also a great opportunity to practice trekking in muddy, rainy conditions that are more similar to what we might find in Kokoda.