Grace* and her son were referred to Monte Cecilia from another organisation seeking support to leave a relationship where she was suffering from domestic violence.

Grace had been in this relationship for several years, during which her partner controlled her and belittled her, using violence to control Grace and her son.

Monte Cecilia’s social work team intervened, starting the process of supporting Grace and on the same day they were able to advocate for the family by taking her to WINZ to apply for emergency housing, which she was quickly accepted into due to the circumstances she was facing.

Within an hour the team had taken her back to her home so she could gather her possessions then travelled to a WINZ-funded motel.

During this time the social worker sat down with her whanau and discussed a safety plan, including ongoing home visits to make sure they were okay.

Over the next month Grace’s social worker kept in contact and was able to get her placed into one of Monte Cecilia’s brand-new community homes.

Grace and her family are now flourishing and rebuilding their lives without violence. Grace’s son is loving his new life and is now concentrating on his schooling.

Grace has praised the team at Monte Cecilia for the ongoing support and communication, as well as the quickness the team displayed in getting her out of the violent environment. 

“Thank you Monte Cecilia. Without your support and fast work to get me housed, things may have turned out badly for me and my son. Thank you so much.”

*not her real name.