“We want to ensure that all our kaimahi feel safe at work and are well supported” Kia Puāwai CEO Marion Heeney.
We are excited to announce Kia Puāwai as our newest DVFREE Tick Partner. Kia Puāwai’s team is collectively focused on a shared vision to help improve the lives of tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau across Aotearoa. Through therapy, care, support and mentor services, they walk alongside individuals and whānau to help them grow and flourish.
On the 25th July, Marg Fitzgibbon, Shine Training & Education Team Manager, and Parisa Kooshesh, Senior DVFREE Trainer and Policy Advisor, presented a DVFREE Tick Certificate to Kia Puāwai.
Speaking on behalf of Kia Puāwai, CEO Marion Heeney said, “This topic is an important one to us as we want to ensure that all our kaimahi feel safe at work and are well supported if they are experiencing family violence in their personal life. Through our mahi we regularly work with families where domestic violence can occur, so gaining the DVFREE Tick makes a lot of sense for our organisation.”
The DVFREE Tick Partnership is a tangible demonstration of an organisation’s commitment to offering a best practice, safe, supportive and sustainable workplace response to domestic violence.
By meeting the DVFREE Tick requirements, including ongoing requirements for training and programme visibility, Partner organisations ensure that employees who experience domestic violence can access safe and effective workplace support, and that employees who inflict domestic violence are held accountable when behaviours are work-related and supported to change. They also help all of their staff to have a basic awareness of domestic violence and what to do if they know someone in the workplace is experiencing or inflicting it.
A key DVFREE Tick criteria is appointing a team of ‘First Responders’ trained by Shine who can support staff impacted by family violence, as well as provide guidance and support for managers with a team member who is experiencing family violence.
DVFREE Tick Partner organisations have access to resources like the DVFREE Manager Online Learning Programme, Advanced and Experienced First Responder training for First Responders who have previously attended two annual trainings, and support from DVFREE experts at quarterly First Responder catchup sessions.
The programme continues to evolve over time. Through ongoing relationships with our Partners, the DVFREE Team learns about what works, so we can continuously improve the DVFREE programme, to continually improve our workplace responses to employees experiencing family violence.