The charity Family Success Matters joins forces with Help@Hand to provide new safety technology for frontline social workers.

Family violence and sexual violence is having a devastating impact on people, communities, and budgets across the country. Family Success Matters (FSM), a family social services provider in the heart of south Auckland, is taking a frontline, ground-up approach to tackle this issue, using ground-breaking family violence support and prevention technology, in the Counties-Manuakau area.

FSM, chief executive Colleen Fakalogotoa, enlisted the support of Sir Ray Avery, founder of the Help@Hand trust, to trial violence prevention technology and services offered by Help@Hand partner, Jupl. A solution that will protect FSM frontline social workers and families under their care in the community.

Colleen Fakalogotoa said "I have a responsibility to protect my frontline workers from harm. We had a successful staff trial and today we trained and armed our frontline community workers with the Family Violence protection tools provided by Help@Hand and Jupl.

We also trialled it with clients too and will be offering the program to survivors of Family and Sexual Violence, with real-time support, so we may better help the families under our care and prevent further abuse."

Sir Ray Avery says, "Family harm is a big problem in our community and responsible for approximately 40 percent of police time, not including the majority of cases that go unreported. Family violence is a subset of family harm which includes physical, sexual or psychological abuse within domestic relationships.

In 2020 ACC commissioned a report to determine the total cost of sexual violence in New Zealand and the estimated cost was just over $6.9 billion and the total cost of Domestic Violence being much higher. So, anything that can prevent the incidence of family and sexual violence in the community makes good social and economic sense."

Jupl CEO, Alan Brannigan says, "Our personal protection systems protect families at risk 24/7 wherever they may be and allows them start new lives free from fear of abuse.

The work that FSM is doing in the community every day is inspiring and humbling and we will do everything possible to provide them with the training and tools to support them in their work".

FSM, HR Manager, Mary Chapman, who spearheaded the programme at FSM concluded " It’s reassuring to be able to provide our people with the most advanced safety technology. Having this safety tool in their kete, empowers our workers, and can give them the confidence to know when they go into a home - if something goes wrong, then we’ve got their back."

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