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\n\u201cWe just picked that up and have to go tip it into the coin machine at the bank which is very exciting, it\u2019s a very full jar,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
TORQUAY couple Sean and Michael Towner are halfway through a 12-month campaign to raise funds, resources and awareness for people experiencing domestic abuse, and are buoyed by local businesses getting behind the cause.<\/p>\n
Developed in November last year when Michael was on the cusp of a significant birthday, HairPeace is the pair\u2019s website resource and charity initiative that\u2019s helping start community conversations while generating $5,000 for service providers Communicare and Safe Steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt pretty much started with the idea of a 30th birthday, marking it in a way that after the two years of lockdowns, instead of just celebrating after what everyone had been through in two years, just giving back in a way, helping people in whatever way we could,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Michael had recently read author Jess Hill\u2019s seminal 2019 book See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse \u2013 later made into a SBS documentary \u2013 and was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono\u2019s famous bed-in peace protests in the late 1960s that had a \u2018Hair Peace\u2019 wall poster in the background.<\/p>\n
Normally sporting short hair, he\u2019s growing it out for 12 months and will donate the proceeds from having it cut to the cause, but rather than a one-off campaign with a singular focus, the Towners have committed to 12 fundraisers over 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first business that helped out was Ocean Grind that put up a HairPeace poster on their community wall. We didn\u2019t want to make it too obvious what HairPeace was, it\u2019s such a fine line of trying to get people to understand what domestic abuse is, for the people who need it most and might find themselves in such a situation, without giving them a brochure, they can\u2019t take that home, trying to keep them safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
February\u2019s campaign raised sanitary items for Share the Dignity, an Australian charity that distributes sanitary products to women and girls experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic abuse, or doing it tough.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also been a fun run, and in May Torquay\u2019s Mavis Mavis cafe hosted a tip jar for the charity.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe just picked that up and have to go tip it into the coin machine at the bank which is very exciting, it\u2019s a very full jar,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not always just about what they can do for us financially, we\u2019ve been talking to Hayley of Modest Folk, they\u2019re a new business so can\u2019t just be dolling out cash, but even if it\u2019s a poster in the window or a post on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair believe that having businesses and the community join them on the campaign is a mark of success.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a big issue, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ve been doing some things right, but there\u2019s just always the ability to grow and be better, and to educate people about what abuse may be,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to friends and family \u2013 who I hope are in healthy relationships \u2013 but we would never have talked about domestic abuse before.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut just because of this year, the fun runs and various initiatives that we\u2019re doing, it\u2019s become a casual conversation in our circle, which I think is the healthiest way for it to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no point not talking about it until the worst happens. I\u2019m very grateful that this has come about due to passion for the cause rather than in memoriam of someone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re pretty lucky to find ourselves there, and it\u2019s a shame that it\u2019s not always going to be that way for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information, head to hairpeace.com.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TORQUAY couple Sean and Michael Towner are halfway through a 12-month campaign to raise funds, resources and awareness for people experiencing domestic abuse, and are buoyed by local businesses getting behind the cause. Developed in November last year when Michael was on the cusp of a significant birthday, HairPeace is the pair\u2019s website resource and […]<\/p>\n