Aboriginal women's service tackling financial abuse
The Mudgin-gal centre in Sydney's Redfern has operated for more than three decades, providing a safe space with programs and facilities for women, mothers and families experiencing domestic violence or homelessness.
Sometimes the centre simply serves as a place to drop in for a yarn, and its chief executive Ashlee Donohue says provides a sanctuary for women no matter who they are or what they have experienced.
Mudgin-gal's important work is expanding with a grant of up to $200,000 and mentoring from the Commonwealth Bank to tackle financial abuse in the community.
The support will allow for culturally safe programs like their trauma-informed sacred circle initiative, which focuses on healing while building financial literacy so women can gain an understanding and independence around money.
"This is a big deal for us," Ms Donohue told AAP.
"The fact that there's mentoring with it, we're not just guessing, we're getting proper information from the bank, and that's remarkable."
The grant is part of the bank's Next Chapter Innovation program, which invests in First Nations-led initiatives to provide culturally informed, practical responses to financial abuse.
Other program grant recipients include the Queensland-based Mookai Rosie-Bi-Bayan, which provides healthcare and accommodation to women and children in Cape York, the Northern Peninsula Area and Torres Strait.
The Next Chapter Innovation program was established to help "break the cycle" of financial abuse, Commonwealth Bank's Indigenous business products executive manager Mitchell Heritage said.
"We are proud to back community-led organisations that are delivering real change on the ground," he said.
Financial abuse can look different in Indigenous communities with family pressure and exploitation of cultural obligations sometimes used to control finances, Ms Donohue said.
Many women who are in a financially abusive situation may not be able to recognise it as such she said, which is why it is important to build financial literacy.
"There's a need for our women to understand finances better," Ms Donohue said.
"In reality we've always been behind the eight ball with money in this country - our ancestors worked for no wages - so this skilling up and sharing knowledge in this space hasn't really been done before and that in itself is innovation."
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