The system is
not failing. It
is overwhelmed.
ABOUT US
Queensland has extraordinary domestic violence services filled with extraordinary people. But when beds are full, workers are carrying enormous caseloads and funded programs have criteria, there will always be needs that don't fit neatly into a box.
That is the space Be There Foundation was created to fill.
WHY WE EXIST
Not instead of the system. Alongside it.
Be There Foundation is a registered Public Benevolent Institution with full Deductible Gift Recipient status. We provide practical support to women experiencing domestic and family violence, and we bring people, businesses and communities together to make that support possible.
We exist because overstretched systems and organisations, however well resourced, cannot catch everyone. A woman leaving a violent relationship does not need a waiting list. She needs someone to answer the phone, fill the tank, show up, and stay.
We are not here to criticise the system. It is full of extraordinary people doing extraordinary work under extraordinary pressure. We are here to stand alongside it, catch what falls through, and move at the speed of need.
That means answering the call on a Sunday night. Driving across town to fix someone's brakes. Sitting in a courtroom at 8am.
OUR STORY
Shaan and Kirsty, founders of Be There Foundation
Between us, we have spent decades seeing the other end of domestic violence.
More than 30 years inside Queensland’s prison system.
The court files. The prison cells. Families fractured by violence. People whose harmful behaviour escalated long before the system finally intervened.
We have seen what happens when domestic, family and sexual violence is not stopped early. We have watched women, and others, cycle through a system doing its very best and unable to keep up. We have seen the cracks. We have watched people fall through them.
We have also seen the other end of it. The men in those cells were boys once. Harm has a beginning, and almost always, someone saw it start.
Be There Foundation was built for both of those truths.
Shaan currently sits on the Queensland Parole Board. Every matter is confidential and no individual story ever leaves that room. But the lesson travels with us:
By the time violence reaches the criminal justice system, the cost has already been enormous.
We know what happens when we
arrive too late.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
What we hold to.
Show up when someone needs you.
Practical help matters.
Women are at the heart of our mission.
Noticing earlier matters just as much.
Work alongside, not instead of.
Men need to be part of the solution.
Nobody asking for help should be treated without dignity.
OUR PEOPLE
The people behind Be There.
Be There Foundation is built by people who believe showing up matters, alongside a community of volunteers who are just as much a part of this.
Shaan Ross-Smith
CO-FOUNDER, BOARD DIRECTOR
Shaan is a psychologist and mediator who has worked across government, corrections and the not-for-profit sector for more than twenty years.
She chaired DVConnect for seven years, worked with the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, and sits on the Queensland Parole Board. She helped create Bella's Sanctuary, transitional housing for women and children escaping violence, and co-founded Be There Group.
Shaan co-founded Be There Foundation because she has seen what happens when help arrives too late, and wanted something that could arrive sooner.
Kirsty Tschirpig
CO-FOUNDER, BOARD DIRECTOR
Bio coming soon.
Jesse de la Croix
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Bio coming soon.
Hayden Whitworth
BOARD DIRECTOR
Bio coming soon.
Stacey Telford
BOARD DIRECTOR
Stacey is the General Manager of an Australian EdTech company and has previously worked across the not-for-profit sector. She lives in the Gold Coast Hinterland with her husband, four children and more animals than she will publicly admit to.
Stacey is a victim-survivor of domestic and family violence. She joined the board because she believes in what Be There Foundation is building, and because it is the kind of help she needed and did not have when she went through it herself.
Rebecca Boon
BOARD DIRECTOR
Bio coming soon.
Sammi Brayshaw
SECRETARY
Sammi is a governance and strategy professional with more than twelve years
across local government, public policy and organisational governance in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She helps organisations turn complex requirements into practical systems, and believes good governance should enable people to do good work, not get in the way of it.
Sammi joined Be There Foundation because safer communities need more than services and systems. They need people willing to notice, step forward and help.
Kell Switala
VOLUNTEER DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Kell holds a Bachelor of Business majoring in Event Management from Griffith University and has spent years turning ideas into events people actually want to be part of.
Outside of events she is a mother of three sporty children, so logistics and keeping a lot of balls in the air are part of her everyday life.
Kell gives her time and expertise because she believes in what we are building for women and families affected by domestic violence.
GOVERNANCE
Transparent, by design.
We're a new charity and we won't pretend otherwise. What we can do is be clear about how we're constituted, who governs us, and where the money goes.
CHARITY REGISTRATION
Be There Foundation is a registered Australian charity, registered with ACNC.
ABN: 40 685 662 122
ACN: 685 662 122
PUBLIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION
Be There Foundation is endorsed as a Public Benevolent Institution.
DEDUCTIBLE GIFT RECIPIENT
The Foundation holds full Deductible Gift Recipient status. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible in Australia.
Be There Foundation and Be There Group
Be There Foundation and Be There Group share a commitment to safer communities, but they are separate organisations with distinct roles.
Be There Foundation
A registered charity providing practical support to women experiencing domestic and family violence, supported by volunteering, fundraising, donations, events and partnerships.
Be There Group
A specialist consultancy. Bystander education, prevention training and workplace culture programs. If you're looking for formal training for an organisation, that's the Group, not the Foundation.
OUR AMBITION
What if the Gold Coast became the safest place in Australia to be a woman?
Not because violence magically disappeared.
Because when something wasn't right, people noticed. When a woman needed help, somebody answered. When services were stretched, the community stepped closer instead of stepping away. Because people had the confidence to speak up while speaking up still cost very little.
We’re starting here, on the Gold Coast, because this is our community. Our focus is Queensland first, but our ambition is much bigger.
We want every woman to know that when she needs someone in her corner, there is someone there. No matter where she lives. No matter what her circumstances are.
We believe safer communities are possible, and that they’re built by people who refuse to look away.