Suddenly homeless, Vhu* and her four children arrived with absolutely nothing and now here to go.
Vhu, 41 contacted Kara Family Violence Service, saying she was Vietnamese and needed an interpreter. We re-contacted Vhu with a phone interpreter, and she informed us she and her four children had been evicted from her house. Vhu’s husband, following years of abuse towards Vhu and the eldest daughter, walked out of the house three weeks previouslyand had not returned. Vhu’s home was a private rental in her husband’s name and her husband had been issued a Notice to Vacate due to rental arrears. Vhu had no knowledge this was happening. Vhu told us she was currently staying with a friend, and her four children were dispersed amongst other friends. Vhu disclosed she was 24 weeks pregnant but had not told anyone. Vhu had no money and nowhere to go. While Kara Family Violence Service’s core business is specialist family violence services, we work closely with several housing services, and contacted them hoping there may be a vacant transitional property available. Finding safe and affordable housing in Melbourne is incredibly difficult, especially for larger families with a very limited income. Luckily after many phone calls we had success and were offered a property. We were able to reunite Vhu and her children and relocate them to a safe area. Kara House continues to support families like Vhu’s during their tenancy and if needed. Case management commenced, with Vhu’s antenatal care being a priority. Our material aid provision included clothing packs for all the family, home and cultural cooking pack, linen packs and food hampers. Vhu has been linked with Centrelink, and we have liaised with the children’s schools. Using donated funds, Kara Family Violence Services was able to provide laptops for the children to continue remote learning.A children’s assessment has been completed and the summary indicated the children have been traumatised by the abusive environment they had been living in. Medical and counselling appointments have been made for the children. Despite the trauma this family has endured, they are

16 month journey to reunite Matida* and her sons.
For Matida the stress was incredible when her ex-husband took her two boys out of the country. Pregnant and alone, it took a support team to help her reunite with her sons. We first met Matida, 6 months pregnant at the end of 2019, when she was referred to Kara Family Violence Service with her toddler daughter, Rayan. While caring for Rayan and planning for a safe birth, Matida’s focus was on her two young sons being cared for by her mother overseas. As a form of control, Matida’s husband, the perpetrator of the violence and the father of her children, removed her boys from her care and took them overseas. Being separated from her boys, Ibrahim and Jamal, took a huge toll on Matida’s emotional wellbeing and mental health. She struggled to manage the day-to-day care of Rayan and Khalid, and eventually child protection became involved placing the children in care while Matida was admitted to hospital. During this time, Kara Family Violence Service was working away in the background liaising with various services and gathering information on how to return the children to Australia. Because of COVID-19 this became a very long and drawn-out process, and a sense of ongoing frustration and sadness for Matida. With the assistance of an immigration lawyer, the children and their grandmother were given an exemption to return to Australia. While Kara Family Violence Service managed to access funding for plane tickets, there were immigration issues, which then impacted the exemption timeframe, and another exemption had to be applied for. After an exhausting 16-month process, plus 2 weeks isolation in hotel quarantine, and with so much excitement and happiness Ibrahim and Khalid were reunited with their mother, little sister and their new baby brother. With thanks to generous donations, Kara House welcomed the children with new clothes, toys and books. We continues to support Matida and her family in a transitional property
and we look forward to them enjoying a secure and happy future together.
*names changed