We are delighted to welcome Shaloo Sood from the Zahra Foundation to the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre as our new Financial Counsellor.
Shaloo joins our team at the Centre to provide free, confidential financial counselling to women impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence.
This service is delivered in partnership with the Zahra Foundation, whose expertise in financial empowerment for women is nationally recognised.
Shaloo brings a strong background in general financial counselling, with specialist experience in working alongside women affected by domestic and family violence and those impacted by financial abuse.
She has also worked in gambling-related financial counselling. Passionate about providing holistic, non-judgmental support, Shaloo is committed to empowering clients to become financially resilient and independent.
“I’ve been following the incredible work of both the Zahra Foundation and the Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre for some time,” Shaloo said.
“What attracted me to the role initially was how holistic it is as a counsellor, and that the clients never have to pay. They can come in, and it’s non-judgmental. It’s free, it’s confidential, and hopefully we can help the clients in their journey, in their financial journey to recover and to become resilient, to become financially independent,” she said.
“Our role is to be supportive in ways that we can empower them so they can have the capacity and capabilities to manage their finances in future, and we are there to help them along the way.”
The Zahra Foundation was founded in South Australia in response to the death of Zahra Abrahaza Day, who was killed in a public setting by her husband.
Her children established the Foundation to create the services they believed might have helped their mother – specifically, support for women in the recovery phase, with a strong focus on economic independence.
The service will include support with debt, budgeting, rebuilding credit, understanding bank accounts, negotiating with creditors, identifying signs of financial coercion, and learning strategies to regain control over money safely.
The Financial Counselling Service at the Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre is free and confidential for women engaged in the Centre’s services.
Contact the Centre to find out more about our financial counselling services.