As Co-location and Co-response Program Manager, Kirsty leads a team of domestic and family violence specialists who work with Queensland Corrections and the Queensland Police Service. It’s a complex, challenging role which involves building strong partnerships to support vulnerable people during extremely difficult periods.
“Our team works with other organisations which have their own cultures and systems, so building good relationships is vital to all our work.”
Although Kirsty’s team members are based in very different settings to most YFS staff, they are all skilled at working with victim-survivors to increase their safety and are passionate about raising awareness of the dynamics of gender, power and control within intimate partner relationships.
“Central to everything we do are the women we work with and their specific needs – so that support looks different for each individual.”
“There are a lot of misunderstandings about domestic and family violence. Helping shift those and make a difference to women’s safety is something I’m proud of.”
Kirsty began working at YFS as personal assistant to former CEO Cath Bartolo in late 2009 after previously working in the retail and events sectors, in both executive assistant and business development roles.
“I felt like I needed to contribute more, and I wanted to work in the community sector so I started studying – but I realised I should also get some experience.”
“I was blown away when I started here. There were so many programs. It was a good grounding.”
Kirsty thrived and was soon offered a role in a new YFS program supporting people through the Queensland Government’s Home Energy Saver Scheme.
“It involved home visits, stakeholder engagement and community education, which was fantastic.”
“Training is embedded in every role at YFS. And opportunities for continuous learning. It’s something I really appreciate.”
Over the next few years, Kirsty worked hard, doing further study while leading several programs at YFS and QCOSS. Then, in 2016, she was approached by YFS’ Domestic and Family Violence Manager to join the Women’s Advocacy team (which supports victim-survivors whose partners are participating in behaviour intervention programs).
Since then, Kirsty’s work (both as a Women’s Advocate and now as Co-location and Co-response Program Manager) has involved measuring lethality and supporting victim-survivors at some of the most dangerous periods of their lives. And despite seeing some of the worst of human behaviour, Kirsty continues to be encouraged by the steadfastness of her colleagues and the resilience of the people she supports.
Kirsty has now been working in, and leading, domestic and family violence programs for 9 years, and working in community services more broadly for 15. But she isn’t the first member of her family to build a career around caring for others.
“We all come from somewhere and have had influences which led us to the work we do. My grandmother and aunty were nurses, and my mum was a social worker. So there’s very much that caring, nurturing, wanting to give back [theme] in the family.”
Kirsty’s hope for the future is to see healthy homes where children can thrive and grow up never having experienced domestic and family violence – in short, homes where kindness trumps control.
