The Hunter business community gathered yesterday to celebrate the work done by The Salvation Army and kick off fundraising for this year's Hunter Red Shield Appeal.
It costs The Salvation Army around $2.4 million a year to provide services in the Hunter region, which the event hopes to fund.
More than 300 people attended to raise money for the hundreds of people in the Hunter region who seek support from The Salvation Army every week.
The Salvation Army local area officer Major Mark Everitt said communities are still feeling the impacts of multiple disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this year's appeal, the Salvation Army also wanted to highlight the shadow pandemic that's destroying lives - family and domestic violence. "Sadly, risks of domestic violence have increased in the past 12 months due to economic insecurity," he said.
"It is reported that one in four women in Australia will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and it is the largest cause of women and children becoming homeless in Australia.
"Over the past 12 months, Salvos supported around 5800 women and children impacted by family and domestic violence nationally, including in the Hunter."
Hunter woman Bekki McCormac spoke at the event, telling her story of abuse as a child which was ignored by her family.
"That took me down a very dark path of addiction, in and out of jail, in and out of rehab," she said.
"It was very dark and I wanted to die because I was just so unloved."
After Ms McCormac left prison for the sixth time she had nothing but release papers, a bag of underwear and $50. With nowhere to go, she turned to the Salvation Army. "They loved me back to life. The Salvation Army loved me when I absolutely could not love myself and when I thought nobody else could love me."
Last year's Hunter Red Shield Appeal event changed Ms McCormac's life, after her speech led to a job offer at Regional Development Australia.
"Having a job is so critical, and when you have to fill out a police check and it comes back with six pages it is a bit off-putting. But now I have responsibility and I have purpose."
Rachel, who has chosen not to use her full name, also spoke at the event. She suffered abuse from her childhood through to her marriage.
"Ever since I was young I just picked men who are abusive, and it happened time and time again," she said.
"I married someone who abused me for eight years, but I still married him because until I went to the Salvation Army I didn't realise the pattern.
"I have been an addict since I was 14 years old, but I started using again in my abusive relationship just to block out the pain. It's just not so easy to get up and walk away. Women are usually the ones left homeless because it's either stay and put up with it or walk away with nothing.
"I was on the streets and I went to Bolton Point Salvation Army and they were my lifesavers. They led me to go to rehab and gave me food vouchers.
"Now I have a house, a car, a job and I don't need drugs to numb the pain anymore because I love life. My eldest daughter didn't talk to me for three years and she just started talking to me."
All funds raised at the event will be spent on supporting people in the Hunter region.
