Plan to

By Lia Bichel
CASEY council is developing a master plan in an attempt to combat domestic violence in the area.
Council will be working closely with local agencies and the State Government to contribute to an action plan to reduce domestic violence, City of Casey acting director of community services Sophia Petrov said.
Ms Petrov said the council was already trying to reduce domestic violence in the area. They are working on the Promoting Peace in Families project in partnership with the Federal Government, Cardinia Casey Community Health Service and the Casey Pastors’ Network.
“The project aims to educate and strengthen diverse communities within the City of Casey to identify, prevent and respond to family violence,” she said.
Through the program, local faith leaders were trained to understand the nature of family violence, and were given educational resources to respond to family violence issues.
Over the past few years, leaders at four Casey churches used their training to promote non-violent relationships through discussion.
Ms Petrov said the sessions were well received by local residents, so eight more faith communities in Casey will trial the same project this year.