Facing the extent and severity of domestic violence can seem overwhelming, but a Canberra cafe has proved tackling the issue can be as simple as grabbing a cup of coffee.
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Brooke Morris was Tara Costigan's close neighbour. They would walk their dogs together and as busy mums relish the quieter moments when they could have a good chat.
Watching Tara's boys play happily with her young son Benji at the local oval, Ms Morris said she could have never imagined months later they would be motherless.
The 24-year-old recalls how the community in her complex rallied around Tara's sons Rhily and Drew after Ms Costigan was allegedly murdered by her ex-partner.
"That was very confronting knowing everything that happened, because they had witnessed it," she said.
"People from our complex came into one home, into my neighbour's home and we all sat there with them until their father arrived."
Watching her daughter grieve, Brooke's mother Karen decided to take action and put a donation bucket up on the counter of their family cafe Little Billy's in Weston Creek.
Within the first seven days customers had donated $1300 and Brooke's stepfather Billy Lyras matched the customer contribution dollar for dollar, taking the total donated to the gofundme.com page to $2600.
An additional $4000 has since been collected and given to support the Tara Costigan Foundation.
"We put the bucket out because it struck a chord and it has just been ongoing," Karen said.
"If early in the morning we don't have it out all the tradies ask 'where's the bucket' and they're hunting around to put their money in."
Rather than being paralysed by the extent and complexities of dealing with domestic violence, Mr Lyras said it was clear the community was searching for an avenue to help.
"Domestic violence is not someone else's problem," he said.
"We're only a small business but we wanted to do something and get people to realise that it's a hidden thing that has to come out."
After such a tragedy it had been heart-warming to see how many people had adopted the daily ritual of donating when grabbing a hot drink or a quick bite.
"It's their little way of helping every day," he said.
"Instead of sitting on their hands thinking 'what can we do?' they come in, talk about it and just keep giving.
"So long as it's a problem, I think people will want to throw their change in."