Amber Watts, Family Violence Case ManagerSalvation Army
Amber Watts, a family violence case manager, says her interest for joining the sector was fuelled from realising the prevalence of the issue in Australia.
A recent graduate, Amber completed a Bachelor and Honours in Social Work, before undertaking a placement at the Salvation Army, in the family violence service, last year.
What motivates me to continue my career is supporting women and advocating for them, and I guess in a way, fighting the injustices of what family violence is. It’s still silenced and invisible in so many ways.
Amber’s case management role is varied and on a day-to-day basis can involve outreach, safety planning, risk assessment and management, providing referrals to mental health support, and when necessary, attending court with clients, as well as liaising with the police and child protection.
“The most rewarding part of my job is when I have a client that I can work with and support on their journey from what can be such significant risk, to being away and safer,” she says.
“For example, women and children who may initially have no services involved, to a few months down the line, having a care team around that is really supporting them. It’s just an amazing feeling, I would say.
What I also really like about my role is the amazing team I have around me. We really hold that space of, ‘Yes, it is a really challenging area to work in, but we support each other through.’ We’ve got a really good debrief and support system around us.
Amber’s advice to new graduates is to “give it a go”.
“You'd be surprised how resilient we can become as workers and although it is really intense, it is rewarding.”
Career Insights panel discussion
Amber was a member of the panel of experts for the Family Violence Career Insights event where she shared her thoughts on what it’s like to work in the family violence sector. The panel answered a range of questions about career paths, roles and opportunities in a growing sector.
In this excerpt of the event, the panel talk about starting a career in the family violence sector and how meaningful, challenging and rewarding their roles are.
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