35 Years of Service Delivery By Olivia Campbell

Who we are: Safer Places is a Domestic Abuse Charity which aims to offer support and safe refuge accommodation, to improve the quality of life and reduce repeat victimization of vulnerable adults and their children at risk of, living and suffer from or fleeing domestic abuse.

1976 Safer Places was formally known as Women’s Aid and was started as a steering Group by Harlow Council offering Voluntary Services to combat domestic abuse.

What is Domestic Violence is a misuse of power within the context of an intimate relationship. Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse and may be physical, emotional, sexual or financial. Ø Any woman can experience domestic violence regardless of race, age, disability, sexuality, nationality, religion and cultural beliefs. Ø

STATISTICS n n n n n 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives and between 6 -10% of women experience Domestic Violence annually. An average of 2 women each week and 30 men per year are murdered by a current or former partner Over 45, 000 women and children stay in a refuge each year. A women is more likely to be sexually assaulted than she is to get breast cancer UK police attend a domestic violence incident every minute of every hour of every day. Domestic Violence accounts for 23% of violent crime. A woman is assaulted on average 35 times before reporting it to the police. The Costs to government is in excess of £ 23 bn a year At least 750, 000 children a year witness domestic violence Nearly three quarters of the children placed on the ‘At Risk’ register live in households where domestic violence occurs

1988 We become full members of the National Women’s Aid Federation it later became the Women’s Aid Federation England (W. A. F. E)

1993 n We separated from Harlow Council and established ourselves as a “A Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee”.

2005 All our services were reviewed by Supporting People n We were awarded with the “Investors in People” accreditation having achieved a level B rating n

Where we offer our services Safer Places has 11 refuges located within Harlow, Southend, Broxbourne, Braintree, Chelmsford and Uttlesford n With 2 drop - in centres located in Waltham Cross, Harlow, Chelmsford, Southend and Braintree n

We provide the following services Refuge accommodation n Outreach service n A Drop-in service n Access to a 24 hour helpline n Our other services include Counselling, Legal Advice, Training, Family Support, and Children services. n

• Legal Advice • Housing Advocacy • Financial awareness • One to one appointments • Support Groups • Referring and signposting to other agencies • Awareness raising within the community • School admissions • Representation on local panels etc • Safety planning • Access to advice on welfare benefits • Liaison with other community services, such as Housing, Victim Support, Health Professionals, Mental Health Services, etc. • Advice and support in accessing education and training

Our Main Services 24 Hour Helpline Services: 0845 0177 668 n We manage a helpline for access to our services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. n Is operated by our support staff who have been trained to give advice, information, support and to access our crisis accommodation when required. n The helpline is available to women and children living in our refuge accommodation , clients living in the community as well as the general public and other agencies who require our services.

Outreach Services: n n n Offers support to women living in the community, who do not want to come into refuge. It supports women to remain safely at home through risk assessments and safety plans with practical advice, support and referrals to other agencies such as the police, social services, housing, legal services, benefits. The support is offered through our drop in service. Support is also offered in homes but we DO NOT offer support in the homes of women who are living with the abuser.

Drop In Service: n n The drop in service is a service that opens daily Monday to Friday, providing support to women who may or may not receive support on any of our services. It offers a safe place for women and children to have some quality time together or on their own. Information groups, taster days and courses are delivered at our drop in centres in conjunction with local colleges and other providers. Work in collaboration with other agencies is offered at our drop in centres to provide additional support to families. These include health visitors, midwives, counselling, legal services, mental health, drug and alcohol as well as probation support services.

Women may be affected by Domestic Abuse in a number of ways: n n n Physical injury or on going impairment has resulted in poor health or disabilities. Emotional/psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, or lowered self esteem Isolation from family and friends Loss of income or work Homelessness Loss of opportunity

The need for this service n Our clients often are from a particular group that is considered as hard to reach, socially excluded, suffering from low self esteem, lacks confidence and have little or no qualifications are lone parents and on benefits.

Our Programs & Training n n We offer domestic abuse programs as well as Training and Development to help victims recover from their experiences and the effects of domestic abuse. Our Programs allows us to empower victims to be survivors by rebuilding their lives, to become independent by realising their true potential as individuals and parents.

How the training is delivered n Where the training is delivered n How participants benefit n

Training Department Structure Senior Trainer ST Training & Development Manager TDM Volunteer Support Business Director Lead Practitioner Assistant Practitioner Volunteer Program Accredited Training Brighter Futures @ Community Interest Company DV Training VS ST ST ISH CHELMS RG TDM BT ISH SE CHELMS

Our Training Methods In House Training Sign Posting Workshops Training Methods Partnership Training Group Training Agency Support Freelance

ESOL Made of Money YOU & ME MUM Brighter Futures@ THE TRAINING CYCLE Freedom Programm e RECOVERY PROGRAMME Work clubs Volunteer Opportunities

Training Programs for Safer Places Clients Course Duration Brighter Futures@ 11 weeks Freedom Program 11 weeks Recovery Toolkit 11 weeks AVA Program 11 weeks The DAY Program 11 weeks Made Of Money Budgeting 8 weeks Volunteer Workshop Bi Monthly Work Club Weekly Date During School Term During School Term Venue Herts & Essex Herts & Essex Cost Free Free

Training for Professionals Course Duration Date Venue Cost Domestic Awareness Half day Monthly/ Quarterly In house £ 270 Dash Half day Monthly/ Quarterly In House £ 370 AVA Half day Monthly/ Quarterly In house £ 370

Accredited Courses Qualification Level Duration Tutor Date Community Justice 3 9 -12 months OC/PG Quarterly Work Base Staff £ 2890 2 Days OC/PG Quarterly ISH Staff £ 370 2 Days G /PG Quarterly ISH Staff £ 170 Introduction Award to Trainer Skills IOSH Working Safely Award Venue Learner Group Cost

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS – 2012 - 2013 Trained - 66 women on our Employability Programme with Progression onto the following: IT 3 Literacy & Numeracy 8 College 2 Self Employment 1 ACL 2 Full Time Employment 1 Voluntary Work 19 Higher Education 3

SROI? Participants: n n n Clients become more Motivated Their confidence & self esteem increase They able to identify personal skills and strengths Communication & Social skills improves Are more likely to access further education

CASE STUDY’S Maria “ The Open Doors Personal Development Program has given me the belief that I can go on to become the person I want to be. Before I started the training I couldn’t believe that I could come as far as I have as I did not have any feelings of self worth, the training has positively contributed to me getting my life back. I have the self esteem and confidence now that will carry me through to complete my training and progress to college to complete my training to become a Forensic Scientist and provide a future for my family”.

Award Winning Program The success of the program has been the difference it has made to lives of those who participated, in helping them to gain skills, find voluntary work or employment, and to be able to support their children in education and to access further education. n The program won the National Training Award for the Eastern Region 2009 because of the Quality and outcomes achieved. n

Recognition & Status

Thank you !!!!!

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