The City of Belmont will launch the first of its community safety video series on 25 November – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – to coincide with the
16 Days in WA campaign.
The
first video documents the City’s
Ruah Community Services’ Belmont Safeguarding Families Advocacy Service which supports women escaping family and domestic violence.
The City of Belmont takes the issue of Family and Domestic Violence very seriously and has invested significant amounts of money and resources into services such as the
Safeguarding Families Advocacy Service since 2017.
This free service offers face-to-face or phone counselling to anybody living in the City of Belmont from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday and can be accessed on 13 78 24 or by visiting
Belmont Police Station.
Ruah Chief Executive Officer Debra Zanella said this is a really exciting initiative, and a new approach to providing the supports that people who have experienced family and domestic violence need.
“Based on the success we’ve had in partnering with the City of Belmont and WA Police to deliver this service, there is definitely scope to expand the whole-of-community approach into other local government areas,” Ms Zanella said.
“Together we can keep the conversation about family and domestic violence going, support more people experience violence and make our communities safer for all,” she said.
The video series are an initiative of the City’s
Community Safety Taskforce and aim to empower residents with community safety information and advice.
Other topics to be covered in the community safety video series include the City’s bike registration scheme, home and motor vehicle security, CCTV in the City, incident reporting and youth services.
The Community Safety Taskforce is a strategic multi-agency partnership created by the City of Belmont where members at a local level share a collective commitment to improving community safety.
Members of the Taskforce include State organisations such as
WA Police,
Department of Communities, as well as local stakeholders such as
The Y WA,
Belmont Forum and
Belmont City College.
City of Belmont Acting Chief Executive Officer Melanie Reid said the videos were an example of the important work being initiated by the Community Safety Taskforce that aimed to assist the community.
The Taskforce has already identified and acted upon a number of issues since its formation including the issue of metal theft which the City successfully lobbied the State Government to make legislative changes to curb the selling of copper.
With the support of the Community Safety Taskforce, the City also successfully secured more than $325,000 of grant funding for
three projects to engage with local youth.
“The Taskforce aims to challenge negative preconceptions about crime in the City of Belmont through the sharing of statistics, facts, information and positive initiatives undertaken by the Taskforce,” Ms Reid said.
Complementary to the City’s Community Safety Taskforce, is the Community Safety Alliance which is made up of community members who play an important role in sharing information about the City’s community safety programs and other initiatives.
Learn more about the
City’s community safety initiatives and access the videos as they are launched on the
City’s Youtube channel.