Being There When It Matters
For new Be There Foundation CEO Jesse de la Croix, tackling domestic and family violence means more than raising awareness. It means showing up, offering practical help and creating a Gold Coast community where no one has to face their hardest days alone. For Jesse de la Croix, stepping into the role of CEO of Be There Foundation feels like a natural progression of work that has long been centred around empowering women, creating connection and telling stories that matter. With a background in the arts, Jesse has spent around 15 years leading teams and businesses, with much of her work focused on the power of words, art and storytelling. “My work has always centred around empowering women through words, connection, art and storytelling, which I aim to bring to this role also,” she says. In recent years, her own lived experience led her to Be There Group founders Shaan Ross Smith and Kirsty Tschirpig, who went on to establish Be There Foundation. “We instantly connected,” Jesse says. “The pull to pour my heart into this line of work felt truly aligned, so when the opportunity was presented I jumped right in. “It is an honour to be a part of the incredible team and to be able to help build the heartbeat of the foundation.” Jesse had already been working with Be There Group, which delivers bystander training across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, teaching everyday people how they can safely respond when they witness harmful behaviour. But through that prevention work, another need became increasingly clear. “Be There Foundation was born out of seeing the need that there was more that we could do,” Jesse says. “This work is all about supporting those who unfortunately have been affected by domestic and family violence who may have fallen through the cracks when it comes to support in the community.” The foundation provides practical, individualised assistance to victim-survivors, working alongside existing support services to help fill gaps that can leave people without the help they need. At the same time, Jesse wants the organisation to help bring conversations about domestic and family violence out into the open. “With curiosity and kindness at the heart of every conversation, we believe that in better understanding the drivers of the behaviour that results in domestic and family violence, we can better support each other,” she says. For Jesse, that community approach is particularly important on the Gold Coast. Behind the statistics, she says, are thousands of people living with fear and abuse in their own homes, including many whose experiences may never be reported to police. “Bringing this issue into the community and empowering us all to safely help a colleague, a neighbour, a teammate, a friend when something seems off, rather than burying our heads in the sand, can create positive impact,” she says. The pressures facing victim-survivors are also becoming increasingly complex, with the cost-of-living and housing crises making it even harder for some women to leave unsafe situations. “We have supported a number of women who have been forced to live in their cars and on the streets as a result of their circumstance, and to say it is devastating is a true understatement.” Although Jesse is relatively new to the CEO role, Be There Foundation is already providing significant hands-on support. Recently, volunteers gathered at its Yatala warehouse to pack more than 800 care packs for women in need. The organisation has also supported families in crisis, accompanied victim-survivors to court, furnished homes and provided emergency financial assistance. Jesse describes what comes next as building “the heartbeat and a collective, a community”. “My vision is more of this,” she says. “It is niche relief, custom support and standing by victim-survivors on their hardest days, reminding them of who they are, that they are supported and they are not alone.” She has already witnessed what that support can mean. “I’ve had a front row seat of witnessing this foundation help a victim-survivor not only survive but thrive in life after decades of experiencing domestic and family violence,” Jesse says. “To know that this foundation has the power to do that and help create generational change is so very important to me.” For Gold Coasters wanting to contribute, Jesse says support doesn’t have to involve a grand gesture. Locals can join the Be There Collective and volunteer at packing days, fundraising events or wherever practical help is needed. The foundation will also hold its first Around the World Rolling Lunch fundraiser at Sanctuary Cove on October 10. For Jesse, who has called the Gold Coast home for 20 years and raised her children here, building that local community of support is particularly meaningful. “Despite seeing its overwhelming growth over the years, for me it’s never lost its sense of warmth and community,” she says. “I take great honour in being a part of a community that ensures it leads the way when it comes to caring for one another.” And that, ultimately, is the message Jesse hopes people take from Be There Foundation: domestic and family violence may be an enormous social problem, but that doesn’t mean individuals are powerless to help. “You don’t have to scratch too far beneath the surface to find that all of us know someone who is facing this epidemic in some way,” she says. “It’s time we got curious about the harmful behaviours that have insidiously been normalised that drive this violence, for the sake of our community and future generations. “If you are curious how you can be part of the change, then Be There Foundation aims to be a safe space for us all to be part of that much-needed conversation.” GET INVOLVED Find out more about Be There Foundation at betherefoundation.com.au, follow @bethere.foundation on Instagram or listen to the foundation’s new podcast, @her.epodcast.
