Aleah*, aged 18, presented to Frontyard for help with housing and was referred to Youthlaw. Aleah had recently relocated to Victoria with her boyfriend. Aleah’s partner had become increasingly aggressive and violent and had pressured her to sign a 12 month lease with him on an apartment and made her pay the entirety of the bond and rent in advance. He took her to an electronics store and pressured her into entering a loan agreement for a laptop and some other electrical items for him, claiming that he had a bad credit rating. Within one week of moving into their new apartment, Aleah’s partner violently assaulted her.
Our youth worker completed a risk assessment with Aleah. The violence she reported was escalating and her self-reported risk of being seriously injured by her partner was high. She felt unsafe residing with him any longer due to his current use of violence and deteriorating mental health. She wanted to leave her partner but had no alternative accommodation, no income and no family support in Melbourne. Youthlaw provided a range of assistance to obtain an intervention order, deal with the tenancy issue and negotiate a waiver of the debt. She was linked in with other services to assist her secure short-term crisis accommodation and start therapeutic music sessions at Frontyard.
*Aleah is a pseudonym to protect the client’s identity.