NVCFR started a mums’ and tots’ group at Standens Barn Youth House.  Although it was never publicised as being for any specific group of women and children, it mainly attracted families experiencing family violence.  Attendances were good and many families were assisted over a number of years.  

The refuge was fully renovated in 1987 and was then able to accommodate five families.  NVCFR kept this refuge until July 2014, when in compliance with NCC Commissioners decision to reduce the number of refuge spaces in the county, we decommissioned the house.

We recognised that the support we were giving to women and children in our refuges was not enough, we needed to support them to move into their own homes, giving them the life skills they needed to manage a tenancy and live the lives they chose for themselves.  Women needed people they could trust to help them live their lives after refuge, help to furnish their homes, fill in forms, apply for benefits etc., and so our Aftercare and Resettlement services were born.  Now called Community Services with access to Therapeutic and Wellbeing support as well as specialist Group Work, we support upwards of 70 women and families a year to move on from refuge and to access our help when living in their own homes across the county.

Help for children who have fled domestic violence with their mothers has always been a high priority for us. In July 2002 another pioneering work began when we were successful in obtaining Children’s Fund funding for a School Liaison Worker to work alongside children in the classroom, helping them to cope with the transition to a new school along with their move to refuge.  The worker had access to local schools and worked alongside the teacher in the classroom for a period of time to bring some continuity and security to the children – as far as we were aware this was the only service of its kind in the country. 

Our children’s services are now much wider, working with child victims and witnesses of domestic abuse and their families to break the cycle.  Our Children and Young People’s Practitioners (CYPPs) are funded by Children in Need and other funders to deliver 1 to 1 and group support to children, young people and their families.  We work to increase self-esteem and resilience and re-build family relationships.  CYPPs work alongside mums to help them develop healthy routines for feeding, eating, sleeping and school as well as supporting those who have children on Child Protection Plans to reduce the need for professional interventions.

Other organisations were now developing specialist group work programmes of between 8 and 12 weeks.  While these were excellent in supporting women to understand domestic abuse, our service users were asked, ‘What’s next?  How do I stay free? This led us to find funding to develop our 20-week group work programme, Stay Free.  Four modules cover 5 weeks each of topics such as Maintaining Change, Emotions, Beliefs and Thinking, Safe Boundaries and Assertiveness. The programme has been developed for delivery online and is currently undergoing a review to update its important content.