Safe Steps support women, men and children from Southend-on-Sea, Rochford and Castle Point. Services support those affected by, or at risk of, Domestic Abuse from Dove Centre for Women, Fledglings Child and Family Service and Southend Refuge. A person who has been affected by domestic abuse and needs help can access the following:
STAFF: Our trained Domestic Abuse Practitioners (known as IDVA’s — Independent Domestic Violence Advocates) provide a person-centred approach to support each client.
ACTIONS: Our practitioners can complete a comprehensive risk assessment and individual safety plan, tailormade to each client to help to identify and mitigate risk factors. They can provide advocacy to assist with housing needs, legal assistance, benefits, mental health, substance misuse, and emotional wellbeing.
DOVE CENTRE: We have our Dove Centre where clients can make appointments to meet with staff. This is a safe place, and our team operate during core working hours, Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm.
REFUGE: Our refuge provides safe accommodation to over 80 women and children each year. This life-saving service not only provides families with a safe place to live, but our practitioners offer one-to-one support for each family to help get their lives back on track. We can also support men experiencing abuse to find a safe place to live.
If you are a man and you are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse, please contact us. We’ll be able to carry out a risk assessment with you to assess the level of risk you are currently in and provide you with a safety plan. Our team will also be able to offer you advice and support, help you to make decisions by exploring all your options, and signpost you in the direction of extra help if needed.
Fledglings provides a domestic abuse recovery service for the non-abusing parents/carers and children and young people (CYP), from the age of 5, who have been exposed to domestic violence. As we are a recovery service, we are only able to work with children and non-abusing parent post-separation, and where the risk from any ongoing abuse is managed or mitigated.
Break the Cycle (BTC) is a service for young people aged between 13-19 years old and has been running since 2017. The project aims to promote and educate young people on healthy relationships.
BTC provides a Safe Lives accredited Children and Young People’s Domestic Violence Advisor (CYPVA) service for those experiencing abusive relationships
We run group trauma-informed recovery programmes. These aim to improve confidence and self-esteem, as well as to help clients understand the dynamics of domestic abuse and the impact of experiencing abuse has had on them."
