By Alesha Capone
A charity that helps to create safe homes for women and children who flee family violence is calling for volunteers in the northern and western suburbs.
RizeUp, which is active in New South Wales and Queensland, is expanding its operations to Melbourne following a 10 per cent increase in domestic violence incidents across Victoria last year.
RizeUp volunteers move items and furnish homes for people impacted by family violence.
The organisation’s Melbourne volunteer homes co-ordinator, Suzanne Commerford, said she reached out to RizeUp last year, after seeing media reports about the rising number of family violence incidents during COVID lockdowns.
“I thought, ‘I could be sitting on Facebook being angry or I can do something about this’,” she said.
As a professional property stylist, Mrs Commerford said she had furniture which she could no longer display, due to being slightly sun-damaged or scratched.
Mrs Commerford felt the furniture – and her skills – could be put to use at emergency or short-term accommodation, and private rentals, for women and children leaving refuges.
Mrs Commerford said RizeUp worked with an agency that assists family violence survivors who are “basically starting again”.
She said there was demand for RizeUp services across the state, but particularly in the north and west of Melbourne.
“We’ve been doing jobs in Heidelberg, jobs in Craigieburn, jobs in Reservoir and jobs in Maribyrnong, but help is needed everywhere,” Mrs Commerford said.
She said RizeUp especially needed volunteers, such as tertiary students and retired people, who are available in the day.
“Our biggest challenge is logistics and we are desperately looking for anyone who can help drive the van from our warehouse to location, packing and unloading flat-packed furniture and even carrying a mattress up some stairs,” she said.
Mrs Commerford said volunteers could help out at the RizeUp warehouse in the west, with tasks such as putting together food packs for families.
Details: www.rizeup.com.au/volunteer.
RizeUp also posts call-outs on social media when they are looking for donations of particular items, see: facebook.com/RizeUpAustralia.
