By Laura Valenti, SafeHome Alliance Co-founder
Photo taken at the HwH launch on March 6th. From left: Laura Valenti, Simone O’Brien (DFV survivor), Sonia Colvin (founder of HwH), Faiza El-Higzi OAM (Women’s advocate and MC), Lisa Curry (Olympic champion and DFV survivor).
Through my work on DFV awareness in the property management space, I’ve met incredible women working to fight Domestic & Family Violence.
One such woman is Sonia Colvin, founder of Hairdressers with Hearts, a DFV awareness training program for hairdressers which began in her salon in Bribie Island just 2 years ago and is now being rolled out nationally. The program trains hairdressers to look for the signs of DFV in their clients, know what questions to ask, and who to refer them to.
Sonia herself has assisted hundreds of clients flee DFV situations and her vision is for every hairdresser and barber in Australia to receive this training.
I was invited to their national training launch in March and saw how one woman’s idea (and determination) can inspire an industry to join together and tackle a social problem.
Just like the intimate relationship that hairdressers have with their clients, Property Managers are privy to what happens behind closed doors via property inspections, and we are tasked with assisting tenants break their lease to flee from a DFV situation. My goal is to spread the word amongst my peers so we can do our part to provide safe and secure housing to DFV victims.
CLICK HERE for more information on Hairdressers with Hearts.
