Supporting U

Leveraging the leadership capabilities of women within multicultural communities

Supporting U is an innovative project by SSI designed to leverage the strengths of women leaders within Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities.

Supporting U Leaders are trained as social responders to address issues of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV).

The project was funded under the COVID-19 Domestic and Family Violence Grant by Women NSW.

Supporting U Leaders

As part of the program, SSI offers leaders in-depth accredited training to ensure they are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to support vulnerable women in their community. Following the initial training, Supporting U Leaders can access ongoing support through Learning Circles where they share their experiences with other leaders and get valuable advice to embed knowledge and build skills.

A social responder’s role is to listen, to prioritise the immediate safety of a victim-survivor disclosing instances of DFV and to refer to appropriate services. They are not a counsellor or caseworker, but a trained person of influence who is aware of the resources available to help victim-survivors of DFV.

Benefits of the program

Supporting U Leaders have deep influence in their CALD communities and therefore, as well as supporting women experiencing DFV, Supporting U Leaders can drive change within their communities and work with other local figures of importance to give them the tools and information they need to also support women.  

In My Voice

Community ties are very strong and varied. The role of our Supporting U Leaders is invaluable to the community as they are allies for women in their communities in times of crisis. They do this work even though it puts them at risk of being ostracised from their community.

The Supporting U Project has been successful and far-reaching - creating a network of connected and empowered social responders who will support their communities into the future.

The women involved in the Supporting U Project had much to share, including the collective learnings from the Learning Circles. To ensure these valuable insights and stories were captured and shared on an ongoing basis, a series of vignettes were created, called In My Voice.

Find out more

To see the outcomes of Supporting U, click on the poster below.

If you would like more information about this project please contact: Juliana Nkrumah AM, Project Manager — Domestic & Family Violence, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0488 680 268