New beginnings

People who are not directly affected by domestic and family violence rarely dwell  on the issue. That’s not to say that they don’t care. Some donate to worthwhile support charities and many state their solidarity with victims on social media or attend all too frequent public marches, but the outrage over the latest tragic incident invariably passes until the next one occurs. 

No matter how well meaning, few actually sit back and think about what someone who has summoned the courage to flee a violent situation faces as they attempt to recover and rebuild their lives? What are their next steps in terms of shelter, housing and employment? And what of the children caught up in the situation who desperately need to get back to school and to some semblance of normalcy as quickly as possible?

Those last two questions in particular were exactly the ones that Isabella Bevan struggled with after reading an article 12 years ago about children arriving at domestic and family violence (DFV) shelters with nothing more than what they wore and could carry.

So deeply affected was she by the article, that she found it impossible to move on and not do something to help – and as a result, Zephyr Education was born. Even speaking about it now, 12 years down the track and having successfully helped countless families, her voice becomes thick with emotion as she remembers.

“There was just something about thinking of these young children who had already faced so much and then you have this added layer of agony because you know how cruel children can be if a child walks through the gate on the first day [of school] and looks different and like an easy mark,” she says.

“But then there’s the other side of it, if they then go back to the [DFV] shelter and say ‘mum I don’t want to go back to school’, there’s another layer of complication. Mum’s thinking that perhaps she’s done the wrong thing and that perhaps the children were happier where they were or whatever.”

“I come from a family where we believe that education is the key to change,” says Isabella when asked why this situation particularly resonated with her.

“If you’re a very young child and you’re falling behind in say grade one, you’ll be playing catch up for the rest of your life. Or if an older child is in high school and they you don’t have what they need, then again they’re not going to meet their full potential and it’s going to limit the options that they have.”

“Being sad about something just wasn’t good enough. I just felt we had to do something.”

While organisations do exist to assist with critical support for those attending DFV shelters, until the formation of Zephyr Education in 2013, there was no such support for helping get children back to school, properly equipped and outfitted to continue their education. Indeed, 12 years down the track, Zephyr Education remains the only organisation of its type, relying solely on volunteers to do all of the work and on donations, community grants and partnerships for funding. 

Zephyr does not seek or receive government funding and yet from that small group of Isabella and her husband David, along with Isabella’s sister Carmel and her husband Terry, has grown an organisation that helps children and families right across the country – again, relying solely on the efforts of volunteers and private funding like that provided by the Audi Foundation.

Yet even with the drive and determination to do something, the early days were difficult. Initial approaches by Isabella to a few DFV shelters with an offer to help, were met with cautious scepticism. Offers of help were not uncommon but once the well-meaning individual or group grasped the enormity of the problem they would quietly fade away.

But Isabella proved to be far more determined and resourceful, asking for ‘a chance to show what they could do’ and duly delivering. At the time, Isabella was managing a school uniform shop, so she was able to come at things ‘from the end product’, knowing what children would need and then working out how to provide it.

“David thought I was a little bit crazy when I said that we have to action all requests for support within 24 to 48 hours,” Isabella recalls of her initial reaction to the article.

Although feeling that such a time frame was impossible, David and indeed those first DFV shelters were proved wrong and that lightning response to individual needs remains a central tenet of the way Zephyr operates to this day.

Having delivered on the promises to the first shelters, Zephyr was introduced to others, and over time, the organisation that was born in Brisbane began expanding its operations throughout regional Queensland, all via word of mouth – an organisation that delivered on its promises and did it quickly.

Zephyr’s approach and mission are simple- it supplies children with the materials and equipment they need to resume their education, whether that be uniforms, shoes, school supplies or increasingly laptops and iPads.

The organisation and those volunteers working for Zephyr deal with case workers at the individual DFV centres and have no direct contact with the families or the children, never meeting the people they help.

Zephyr responds to the requests made by the case workers who assess the specific needs of each  child in their care. Nearly every response is made in that crucial 24 to 48 hour window, whether it involves approving expenditure on school uniforms, resource fees or even school camps or packaging and delivering other school items from its operations centre which remains in Brisbane.

“No one knows what that need is until a new family walks through the door,” Isabella says.

“Every child and every situation are different. So we’ve positioned ourselves to work in a way that helps the case worker and doesn’t make them jump through hoops or create more work for them.”

The approach works, and through increased donations and ongoing support like that provided by the partnership with the Audi Foundation, Zephyr now operates nationally.

“The funding from Audi Foundation has enabled us to significantly expand our interstate operations. When we received our first grant from Audi Foundation in 2018 we were helping children in 23 DFV organisations in Tasmania and WA. Today we are helping children in 104 DFV organisations in every State and Territory as well as the 149 we help in Queensland.”

In the financial year 2023-2024, Zephyr provided support that topped $884,573 – an increase of 18 percent over the previous year, and support for this financial year is on track to top $1 million.

It’s a bitter sweet ‘success’ story in that the increased demand, while showcasing the effectiveness of the Zephyr operation and the tireless work of the volunteers, also brings the extent of the need and ongoing problem into sharp focus. But far from being overwhelmed, Isabella and the team continue undaunted.

“All these years later David and I and Carmel and Terry still have that same feeling of wanting to make a difference, and all of the volunteers who approach us have that same dedication to making a difference,” says Isabella.

“There’s no such thing as a magic wand in this world and I really wish there was,” she says, “but this is as close as we can come to making things as good as possible and as quickly as possible.

“It’s not about us, it’s about the children. We’re not important,” Isabella says when we request a photograph of her and the founding group for the article.

But while she and the others at Zephyr never meet or deal directly with those they help, there is no shortage of testimonials from those who have worked with or been directly assisted by Zephyr. One retiring case worker who prefers to remain anonymous sums up the impact Zephyr Education and all involved in the organisation have had in their personal experience.

“I have worked with many support agencies [over 27 years] but none comes close to the support that Zephyr has provided.”

“With the support of Zephyr we have been able to equip children with belongings & experiences that are often the beginning of what we hope is a life without violence & fear. Children can begin at a new school in uniform & with the tools to get busy learning, fitting in & participating in all that the school can offer and often accepted within hours.”

Or another:

‘Little man came into the office yesterday and insisted on showing us his new school uniform. Proud as punch and had a fantastic day as he had everything he needed to feel and look like he belonged. So appreciative for everything Zephyr does’.

Each child and family assisted by Zephyr represents a tremendous, ongoing success story. Though domestic violence remains a significant problem around the country, each child able to continue their education and improve their own outcomes means another grim statistic denied. All because a group of people felt that ‘being sad about something just wasn’t good enough’.