Altona resident and The Project co-host Meshel Laurie says crowdfunding to pay for abuse survivors to travel to Rome will also be used to provide more mental health services in Ballarat.
More than $200,000 has been raised by a GoFundMe page, set up by Ms Laurie, far exceeding the $55,000 target.
Cardinal George Pell has said he is too sick to fly to Australia to testify at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Ms Laurie said a chance meeting with several survivors in Ballarat prompted her to help raise money for them to fly to Rome to see Cardinal Pell give evidence.
“My only concern is the survivors, some of whom feel as though they really want to witness his testimony for their own healing,” she said.
“The beauty of raising so much money is that it’s kind of gone beyond that now and it’s very much about ongoing mental health services to survivors in Ballarat.”
CARDINAL GEORGE PELL. PICTURE: JOE ARMAO
It is not certain whether survivors will be allowed to attend the Rome hearing, with the commission yet to determine arrangements for Cardinal Pell’s testimony.
Ms Laurie said it became clear within 24 hours that the crowdfunding had exceeded the $55,000 required to send 15 people to Rome.
“Now it’s really about very tangible objectives like cutting waiting lists for mental health services for survivors in Ballarat,” she said. “There are people on suicide watch who are having to wait 10 weeks before they can see a mental health expert in Ballarat with the proper training to help them with their issues.
“So now we’re looking at how we can cut that time.”
She said the crowdfunding campaign was about much more than money to the survivors.
“What I didn’t expect was how much it means to the survivors to have so many Australians show their support for them,” Ms Laurie said.
“It’s not even about the money – it’s so much about people who have felt since childhood that they’ve been carrying this shameful secret and that other people didn’t want to know about it or didn’t believe them.
“For them to find out that we care deeply about this story is really moving for them. That is worth a million trips to Rome to me.”
Anyone in need of counselling can call CASA (Victoria) on 9635 3600 (9am-5pm) or 1800 806 292 (5pm-9am).
