Our Services

Please see our update on how we are responding to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) here

We provide free and confidential services to support people who are currently experiencing, or have previously experienced domestic abuse.

We are passionate about ensuring that every person has the opportunity to live their life free from domestic abuse

Our staff and volunteers are trained to provide support at the highest possible standard, informed by the trauma the individual has experienced and led by their needs. We provide immediate support and advice to promote safety and reduction in risk of harm and longer term support to promote emotional recovery and practical support wherever it is needed to enable planning for a safer future.

Community Support

We support people who are experiencing domestic abuse and don't feel able to or need to leave their home. We are able to work with individuals in a community setting and can provide access to the same emotional and practical advice and support to promote safety and recovery for a safe and happy future. We currently are able to offer services to individuals living in the local authority areas of Colchester, Tendring, Braintree, Chelmsford, Maldon and Uttlesford.

Refuge Accommodation

Our purpose-built accommodation provides a temporary home for up to 12 women and children who have reached crisis point. The flatlets are modern and well equipped. Each new resident receives a practical “starter pack” when she arrives. A key worker will support her and her family right from the beginning of their journey. When she leaves, we support her to begin her life’s next chapter.

Domestic abuse is rarely a single issue and many residents arrive needing specialist support to deal with substance misuse (drugs and alcohol). In our residential house, with nine flatlets, we provide professional, specialist support focused on the identified needs of women who are battling with this type of addiction to help them with their recovery journey.

Children & Young Persons Service

Children and young people are affected by domestic abuse too. Our Children’s and Young People’s Team include Pre-school Practitioners, Creative Therapist and Children’s Support Workers. We can provide a range of services including emotional support for children and young people, parenting support, family work, pre-school education, school holiday activities. We also undertake some work in the community in partnership with local schools and other agencies.

Raising awareness of domestic abuse is a very important part of our work. In primary and secondary schools as well as in higher education, we talk to young people about healthy relationships and how to recognise the signs of abuse.

Ofsted Registered Pre-school

Our Children and Young People’s service includes an Ofsted-registered pre-school for the children of residents. Our staff are trained to support children and young people, recognising the short- and long-term effects of domestic abuse.

Group-work (provided in community settings)

Freedom

The Care Programme (Parenting)

Money Matters (priority/non priority debts)

Awareness Raising & Training

School PHSE presentations

Awareness raising and training sessions for partner community organisations

Latest

Day in the life of a resettlement worker

Setting up a new home is a great relief for my families. Finding that they can re-gain some sense of normality quickly takes a great weight off their shoulders, to know that they are not just left to do it all on their own once leaving refuge is really helpful.
Schools out for summer…..?!

Indeed, school is out for summer but actually it’s been out since before the start of the Spring term. It feels an age since we had the routine of school around us to help us manage our day and our children could socialise with their friends as they used to. We know schools are often the heart of our community and act as a place of safety for many of our children who are living with or have experienced domestic abuse.
What our partner agencies and clients tell us

I could talk and talk about our service indefinitely I guess because I want you to feel comfortable I want you to feel that you can trust us with your own individual story, but now it is time for you to hear a bit less from me and a bit more from people who have used our service, and what other agencies may tell you about our service
Jargon buster - let us explain as much as we can for you!

My point to you all today is to continue to ensure you that as IDVA’s we can help and we will help with all sorts of issues that matter to you, simple and not so simple. We may not always have the solution right away, but we will help you get there, we will help you see the wood for the trees, to see that there can be a light at the end of that tunnel and you will then understand why all of a sudden you have so many people wanting to talk to you.

Domestic Violence Lockdown Appeal

Lockdown increases the opportunities that abusers can coerce or abuse women and children.
Covid-19 - what are we doing?

As part of our commitment to individuals experiencing domestic abuse and their families who are worried about them - we’re doing our very best to make sure that we are always available to respond and help. Your safety and wellbeing is of paramount importance to us and we are prioritising our services in relation to safety and support above everything else.
Our approach

We continually innovate to offer high quality services to support people affected by domestic abuse and create lasting change.
Volunteer for us

Our volunteers bring invaluable experience and enthusiasm to our organisation, and help to strengthen our links to the communities we serve.

How to move forward from loss and grief

These are all perfectly natural feelings and reactions to loss and grief and some may even compare it to a bereavement. Even if you don’t feel that way at all you may have been left feeling empty and confused or angry. We might constantly be bargaining with ourselves still or find that depression has taken over. We all deal with loss in our own individual ways and this is what makes each of us so unique. This is perfectly normal too.
How does domestic abuse differ in other cultures?

The actions of individuals are influenced by the norms, values, language, and other cultural factors that are like the dust in the air that surrounds everyone. These cultural factors are ingrained in us from the day we are born, and can play a role in either ending or perpetuating domestic abuse.
Special Place in the Home

So, you survived Monday! Well done. One of the things that I am really missing is seeing my friends and family – we know that ‘being connected’ is really important for our mental health and emotional wellbeing. Having close positive relationships gives us a purpose and a sense of belonging. During this lockdown many of the ways we are usually connected to people – friends, family, work colleagues, school chums – have changed beyond all recognition.
The Role of an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor

So, imagine for a moment that you’ve summoned up the courage to finally leave, you’re feeling vulnerable and afraid and understandably really nervous about what the future might hold –you have to try and find your way through all that…. that's if you even knew half of it existed in the first place or where and how to start to getting in touch with them… So that's where we IDVA’S come in.
Safety begins at home.....?

We know from speaking to our clients, that the lockdown has meant that some perpetrators may not be able to feed their addictions, or they may be over feeding their addictions due to boredom or frustration and this in turn will be affecting their mental health. There is so much research about the dangerous cocktail of this ‘toxic trio’ (the combination of domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health issues) as it leads to emotions being intensified which in turn drives behaviours.
Covid-19 - what are we doing?

As part of our commitment to individuals experiencing domestic abuse and their families who are worried about them - we’re doing our very best to make sure that we are always available to respond and help. Your safety and wellbeing is of paramount importance to us and we are prioritising our services in relation to safety and support above everything else.
Help in an emergency

What to do in an emergency. If you think that you are in immediate danger then you need to call 999 for the police.
IDVA’s in lockdown

The IDVA team understands the impact lockdown has had and the additional difficulties, this has for our victims/survivors of domestic abuse for we all continue to break down these barriers and continue to be innovative in how we offer our support.
Mask fitted, safety card is located in the seat in front of you

Last week we focused on our own psychological safety (routine so important here) and helping our children to feel emotionally safe – but what about being physically safe? For many children living in a household with domestic abuse, school provided the routine and much-needed respite. With schools closed and communities ‘shut down’, how can we help ourselves and our children to stay safe when violence erupts.
Jargon buster - let us explain as much as we can for you!

My point to you all today is to continue to ensure you that as IDVA’s we can help and we will help with all sorts of issues that matter to you, simple and not so simple. We may not always have the solution right away, but we will help you get there, we will help you see the wood for the trees, to see that there can be a light at the end of that tunnel and you will then understand why all of a sudden you have so many people wanting to talk to you.