Queensland-based DV Safe Phone has been chosen to receive funding from MetLife’s community impact grant program.

The charity – the first Australian organisation to receive such funding – gives repaired mobile phones to domestic violence survivors through support agencies and hospitals across Australia. 

More than 10,000 phones have been refurbished and distributed so far, and the MetLife funding will cover almost 1000 more.  

MetLife Australia will also work with the charity, providing employee volunteer support, education on domestic violence and gift phones for refurbishment. 

“Having a reliable, secure phone is a critical piece of the puzzle for those re-establishing their lives following domestic violence,” DV Safe Phone founder and CEO Ashton Wood said. “The grant from MetLife Foundation will expand the number of people we can help.”

The grant program has so far awarded $US2.6 million ($4 million) across 16 cities in the US and six countries in the Asia-Pacific region. 

MetLife Foundation president and CEO Tia Hodges said: “The success of the program has allowed us to grow the impact of the foundation’s ongoing grant-making and impact investments.”

It is estimated 2.2 million Australian adults have suffered violence from a partner, and one in six women have experienced violence and/or economic abuse.