Healing Childhood Trauma

Children exposed to early trauma - such as abuse or family violence -  are 3.6 times more likely to have a mental health or substance use disorder, and are up to 7 times more likely to have both, compared to those without trauma.* The impact on the formative years and development of these children…

Trauma Informed Education

Education is key to breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage, and every young person should be able to access education that meets their needs. Across Australia, we are seeing an increase in school refusal and the number of children disengaged from mainstream education.  Berry Street …

Addressing Family Violence

One woman is murdered every 4 days on average in Australia, with countless women and children experiencing trauma from the impacts of current and past violence.* This, along with a litany of other disturbing statistics, is what Berry Street is fighting to stamp out. So, how is Berry Street addres…

Providing Safe Homes

At 30 June 2022, 45,400 children were in out-of-home care in Australia*  In Victoria in 2021-22 there were 11,828 children placed in at least one out-of-home care placement during the year.^ Across Australia in 2021-22, there were 61,900 substantiated cases of child maltreatment impacting 45,500 ch…

Childhood Neglect

Family violence and abuse take shape in our minds, they’re tangible and we can understand these kinds of harm. However, when it comes to neglect, there are many contributing actions or inactions, that we may not have even considered.  Host, Richelle Hunt explores the breadth of what constitutes ne…

Early Intervention

The Child Protection system is overburdened with more children being removed from their homes than ever. Vulnerable families and carers are struggling with the cost of living, housing instability and mental health issues. Early intervention is an area that if funded and resourced correctly,  can he…

Bringing a new model of care to Victoria

Thousands of children and young people across Australia can’t live safely at home. They need to be removed and placed into out-of-home care. The best models are typically kinship care and foster care.  However, there are serious pressures on these models. We’re seeing a large decrease in the numbe…

Reimagining the system

When adults caring for children don't follow through with their responsibilities, are abusive or exploit their positions of power, then child protection is empowered to investigate and intervene to protect the child legally when required. The Victorian Child Protection Service is specifically targ…

Introducing: Stories from Berry Street

Welcome to Stories from Berry Street. For nearly 150 years Berry Street has dedicated itself to keeping children, young people and families safe, thriving and hopeful. Yet today, in Australia, rates of family violence, abuse and neglect are higher than ever before. Join Richelle Hunt, ABC radio p…