A book to help children build resilience and assist those recovering from and/or living in family violence situations.

Hope was written to provide children in family violence homes with a sense of hope and to lessen the traumatic effects of their living situations. It aims to help children voice their concerns and their fears, and to express these with an adult or adults they trust such as a family member, teacher, carer or the police. Too often children in these environments blame themselves for the violence in their homes and take on the burden of shame and guilt. This book aims to reassure children that family violence is never ever their fault and that there is also hope that things might change.

Hope was developed with the assistance of EDVOS (Eastern Domestic Violence Service) and Anglicare Victoria to support adults on how to provide a safe and supportive response when children share their experiences of family violence. The book emphasises that children are never to blame for family violence and that the accountability lies with the person choosing to use violence.

Hope includes a Safety Plan developed by EDVOS that can be used by health professionals working with children, early years educators, teachers and family members or friends who might know a child that may be experiencing family violence.

This book can be read over a number of sessions by children, or to children by parents and caregivers, or integrated into a classroom setting. There are also further discussion questions/ideas included at the back of the book.