STAFF at Murray Downs Golf and Country Club have rallied behind a local safe housing project for victims of domestic and family violence.
This week, staff members and board members raised $2000 for Safe Shelter From Domestic Violence, with an extra impromptu contribution of $500 coming from local business Manang Handyman and Cleaning Services.
Co-owner of the business Sara Smith was just about to leave the reception area when a giant cheque caught her eye.
She said when she knew where the funds were being donated she felt that she had to contribute.
“I went through this myself and I don’t want others to get stuck with their abusers,” Ms Smith said.
“I had to do this because I really care.”
Chair of Safe Shelter From Domestic Violence Arthur Graham said interactions like this were not rare.
“When we sit down to sell raffle tickets, people come in and say ‘Look, I don’t want new tickets, just put it in as a donation’, and the amount of people that have been through it without ever telling anyone are starting to tell people,” Mr Graham said.
“We’ve got to keep calling it out if we want to stop it, and I hope the houses we end up building become empty after a while.”
Mr Graham emphasised the necessity for safe housing in Swan Hill.
“Motels are all right if the victims need somewhere to sleep but they’re not secure,” he said.
Mr Graham added that victims in motels eventually needed to seek out further help to be safe.
“They then can take you to Mildura or Bendigo, and if you’ve got young children they’ll also be taken out of town and away from their school friends and community,” he said.
Mr Graham said they have been working with Mallee Sexual Assault Unit and Domestic Violence Services to plan their next moves after gathering enough funding.
“Our job is to raise the money and the services will tell us where they want the houses and how they’ll be built,” he said.
Mr Graham said he was grateful for the community’s support of the initiative as about $170,000 had been raised so far in total.
“The support for safe housing in Swan Hill has been gaining a lot of momentum,” he said.
“I’d just like to thank the staff at Murray Downs for getting involved.”
Murray Downs Club staff member Amalie Taylor said they were glad to be donating to a cause for the local community.
“It’s good to see that the money could be able to help so many people here,” Ms Taylor said.
“We decided to use the money that we get in tips to donate $1000 and then the board approved another $1000 to match us.
“Hopefully we can do this again next May and maybe raise the same amount or even more.”
