CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms FRANCE (Dickson) (16:38): Women escaping domestic violence often just leave with themselves and their children and the clothes on their backs. Rebuilding a life from there is bloody hard. It takes years.

It's exhausting and expensive. I've sat with many women in my community of Dickson who've described that very experience of trying to start again, and it's hard. It's so hard that sometimes many return either because they can't find a roof to put over their head or they can't afford to give their kids the clothes, the food and the comforts they once had.

An empty house with no beds, no fridge and no table for the kids to eat at is not a fresh start. It's heartbreaking. One simple yet powerful support is to provide household essentials that turn four walls into a home.

That's what RizeUp does. Many South-East Queenslanders know RizeUp and the incredible work that they do in my electorate of Dickson and many, many others. RizeUp is a not-for-profit that works hand in hand with frontline domestic violence services to fill a home with kitchen basics, beds, towels and toys.

Within hours of a referral, their volunteers take an empty house or unit and set it up completely for a family that is about to move in—furniture, appliances, beds made up, a full pantry, toiletries and a bedroom for a kids, right down to what the little ones need to start life at a new school. RizeUp began in Queensland but has grown into a national movement of volunteers and donors, and it's been doing this work for a decade.

I recently had the chance to help set up one of these incredible homes with the RizeUp team in my electorate of Dickson. It was amazing to watch an empty residence turn into a fully furnished home in a matter of hours, all thanks to volunteers and organisations donating furniture and money so that furniture could be bought. Helping turn that blank space into a home and knowing a local mum and her kids are now sleeping there safely was so good for my mental health, but, obviously, a turning point in all of their lives.

It's safety, and, for some families, it means they don't go back to that violence. As of today, RizeUp has created 3,668 homes across the country. To CEO Nicole Edwards and everyone at RizeUp—the staff, the volunteers and the donors, who give what they can—I say thank you for the vital work that you do.

I love organisations like RizeUp who are working in Dickson and right around the country to support women and families fleeing domestic violence. They always need more volunteers, so please help out if you can.