Ms Julie Hart, of Hastings, ONZM for services to women and victims of family violence
Ms Julie Hart served Hastings Women’s Refuge for 24 years, beginning as a volunteer, becoming a paid staff member and progressing to manager. She led the Family Violence Intervention and Prevention Charitable Trust and continues to volunteer with the Trust’s 24/7 crisis line.
She has conducted personal research on the impacts of colonisation on Tangata Whenua and the experiences of migrant communities within New Zealand. She has collaborated with many different agencies in Hawke’s Bay, including New Zealand Police, Te Kura, and the Emergency Housing Collective. She created Triple S (Safe, Secure, Short-term), a successful initiative that provides transitional housing for homeless women and their children in Hawke’s Bay.
Ms Hart was appointed to the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges governing body for a three-year term.