Family violence affects everyone Months of psychological abuse, threats, anger and, at times, physical violence had taken their toll on Simon.*
But then Simon got a call from a childcare worker to say his eldest child had admitted his mother and her new partner were hurting him.
His only option, he thought, was to cut off all ties from his ex-wife, including with his three beloved young kids.
Heartbreakingly, they had told the childcare worker that they didn’t want to live anymore. “I cried my eyes out,” says Simon. “I knew then something had to be done.”
“I considered saying, ‘take the kids, leave me alone, I can’t do this anymore’,” he says. “It became really, really tough. Every day arguing and being abused. I constantly lived in fear, my mental health was so severely affected I started thinking that, even though I love the kids, I have to step away completely. I can’t continue like this.”
That something involved multiple agencies stepping in – Police, Oranga Tamariki and, to Simon’s great relief, Victim Support. “My Support Worker organised clothing for the children who. To eliminate further harm, were now coming to live with me and got food parcels delivered.“
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