Messages of courage, kindness at Zonta’s Orange breakfast

Zonta Club of Redcliffe’s Orange Breakfast heralded the beginning of the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism, with guest speakers urging the community take a stand against domestic and family violence, while spreading kindness.

The event, at The Komo, this morning (November 26) was a chance for the broader community to come together to hear from Gold Coast Young Australian of the Year 2024 and Founder and CEO of Letters of Hope Abbie Williams and family trauma survivor Rhonda Armstead.

Zonta Club of Redcliffe President Dawn Morris said this year’s theme of the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism was “Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. #NoExcuse. UNiTE to End Violence against Women”.

Dawn said women and men needed to stand up, hold perpetrators to account and have a zero-tolerance attitude to domestic and family violence.

She said Zonta’s focus was to raise awareness and invest in organisations trying to make a difference.

Zonta Club of Redcliffe recently received the Queensland Police Service Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Community Service Award for its work in helping establish DV Safe Rooms at Redcliffe, Mango Hill and Deception Bay.

The initiative, supported by local businesses and organisations, has already made a difference in the lives of those affected by domestic violence by creating warm and welcoming places for victims at police stations.

Rhonda spoke of her family’s trauma when her husband was bashed by two girls at a Sunshine Coast building they were managing.

He survived the initial attack but suffered ill health and mobility issues, as well as multiple strokes which later killed him.

She called for tougher penalties for offenders and said the experience, and the loss of her husband, had a profound impact on her life and changed her as a person.

Letters of Hope Founder and CEO Abbie Williams shared her story of survival, courage and how suffering domestic violence and mental illness had inspired her to help others.

Before telling her story, she shared sobering statistics including that one in four women had experienced domestic violence since they were 15 years of age.

She revealed she was in an abusive relationship for three years, from the age of 18, and was subjected to emotional abuse, coercive control and physical abuse.

Abbie spoke about her mental health challenges before, during and after the relationship, and how a friend helped her re-establish a support network which gave her the confidence to leave her partner.

A decision to migrate to Australia from the UK one year later further boosted her confidence and helped her rediscover the joy of writing and receiving letters.

It was a lightbulb moment in which she realised she could share that feeling with other people, particularly those struggling with mental illness and loneliness.

She started Letters of Hope in 2018, aiming to spread kindness, raise awareness and break the stigma around mental health through sending handwritten letters to those going through tough times.

Abbie and a team of 500 volunteers now also send information, coping strategies and self-care tips to recipients. Many of the volunteers are domestic violence survivors.

“We have saved three lives this year,” she said.

The team has sent 4800 letters to people in more than 27 different countries.

Letters of Hope now also provides mental health first aid training and engages with schools, connecting to 1000 students this year.

Her message is clear: “When you put kindness out into the world, it comes back 10-fold. We’re seeing the good in the community every single day and it blows me away.”

She says she is proud she has taken the power away from her domestic violence perpetrator and is now making a difference in the lives of others.

To find out more, visit lettersofhope.care