The Mid North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) invited young leaders from the Hastings Macleay area to learn more about the fight against domestic violence by attending a White Ribbon Day breakfast on November 25.
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Young leaders from schools, universities, TAFE and community groups attended the event at the Shared Health Research and Education Campus.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council mayor Peter Besseling addressed the audience and said that the young people of today can make a difference to bring domestic violence incidents down to zero.
Mr Besseling acknowledged the White Ribbon ambassadors who he said take a step beyond just turning up on White Ribbon Day. He said they are actively engaged and at the forefront to stop domestic violence in the local community.
Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Service program and community education specialist Ahlia Westaway-Griffiths said that while domestic violence is a hard topic to talk, about it’s important to have the conversation and for it not to be ignored.
Mid North Coast Local Health District chief executive officer Stewart Dowrick said that it was up to the young leaders in the community to assist others who might be going through a difficult time.
He said social media is a form of communication but can also be used as a form of abuse. Mr Dowrick said it was up to people to stand up and speak out against any form of inappropriate behaviour.
Quoting the words of Martin Luther King, Mr Dowrick said ‘in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends’.