Matt Brown from She is not your rehab, is a guest speaker at our family violence prevention expo- Weaving Together for change. Whanganui VIN hopes to spotlight changing the narrative and what this looks like in action, through the lived experience of Matt Brown. Matt’s message speaks to the legacy of intergenerational trauma, how pain and shame don’t discriminate, how unfair, inequitable systems compound and contribute to this, and how healing helps us make different choices instead of those modelled in our earliest “normalised” environments. Matt invites men to care for each other, their whanau and their communities by offering compassion and space to listen, aiming to normalise vulnerability and courageous conversations about hard things, he spotlights how taking action against family violence must include healing from past trauma, and can begin where we already are (i.e. allowing our businesses to be safe places to have these conversations). Matt also exemplifies how different parts of a community can work together to enhance a communities safety and wellbeing via desiging, leading and delivering solutions that affect change (Matt works with the Ministry of Social Development, It’s NOT OK Campaign, Battered Women’s Trust, Canterbury District Health Board, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and START- who together developed the online Family Violence hui).
