About Us

As the registered charitable arm of The Sista Code movement, our vision is to see women and their children happy, thriving and living independently after escaping the trauma of domestic violence.

As such, Got Your Back Sista offers benevolent relief and support to women and children escaping domestic violence and are at risk of living below the poverty line. We give a hand up for them to begin again and live independently.

Focus Areas

Got Your Back Sista provides a pathway from refuge accommodation to sustainable independent housing, living and employment.
The charity is focussed on providing these services within the Hunter, Central Coast and Manning Regions with a look to expand to providing services throughout NSW in the next 12 months. We offer:

Begin Again Program

Helping women and children, moving from a refuge to independent living, setup a safe home by providing furniture, white goods and household items, plus food and personal care items.

SUPPORTED BY WESTS GROUP, HEXHAM BOWLING CLUB AND TORONTO WORKERS CLUB

Stand Tall Sista Program

We now run 6 week self defence programs to help women to feel both mentally and physically stronger. This is a great opportunity for women to:

have fun in a group setting with other women
learn tips and techniques to feel empowered and safe
learn about personal space and boundaries and what to do if you feel threatened
learn how to physically defend yourself and
improve your self-esteem and confidence.

WDO Sponsor

Got Your Back Sista is an approved Revenue NSW Work & Development Order (WDO) Sponsor. If you have outstanding fines, we may be able to assist. Please provide details when you register for our programs so that we can assess your suitability.

Rise Up & Thrive Program

Aims to help women who have escaped domestic violence gain the confidence, support and skills they need to be happy, obtain employment and thrive.

The Rise Up and Thrive program comprises workshops, mentoring, reskilling (if needed), work experience and employment opportunities for participants.

Unfortunately, domestic violence is prevalent in our country and the single biggest driver of women in to poverty, which in turn has a significant impact on their well-being, health and happiness.

Our vision is to see women and their children happy, thriving and living independently after escaping the trauma of domestic violence.

SUPPORTED BY THE AURIZON COMMUNITY GIVING FUND

Empowerment Circle

This FREE weekly workshop is designed to empower women to live their best life!

Each week our presenter, Kaz Amos, will cover topics like self compassion, kindness to self and others, forgiveness, self worth & self care, resilience skills, the practice of deep breathing, goal setting & vision boarding and much more.

Our Board

Got Your Back Sista is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee with 4 board directors. It has been registered with the Australian Charity and Non-Profit Commission and has full DGR status with the Australian Taxation Office.

Melissa HistonFounder, Director & CEO

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Business (Notre Dame) and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience including governance, financial management and marketing from previous board positions and senior management roles. After founding The Sista Code in 2014, Melissa founded the Got Your Back Sista non-profit organisation in January 2016 to see vulnerable women thriving and living independently.

Belinda SmithChairperson

Belinda holds a Masters of Business Administration, is the Founder of Equal Futures Project (Hunter) UN Women Australia; CEO of Rapid Solutions; President of Alumni Advisory Committee, Newcastle University; and Committee member of Commstrength for Youth Suicide Prevention.

Heidi PollardDirector

Heidi holds a Bachelor of Arts (Comm.); Master of Arts (Comm.); Chair of the External Advisory Board for the University of Newcastle’s Communication Program; Founder and Chair of the Professional Communicator’s Network and she is the CEO of UQ Power.

Chad WatsonDirector

Chad is a media executive with more than 25 years’ industry experience, covering metropolitan and regional areas. He is a White Ribbon anti-domestic violence ambassador, a Justice of the Peace and a Hunter Region Sporting Hall of Fame committee member.

Get Social & Join the Sista Community

We can be found on the following social platforms