Aim

To extend our on-line training support for victims of Domestic Abuse through offering an evening 'Freedom Programme' course through 2021.

What is Cherished?

Cherished  is an initiative borne out of a passion to support victims of domestic abuse and many of the related consequences.

Cherished provides a warm, safe and supportive environment and are passionate and dedicated to work with women, at their pace, to regain control of their lives and the lives of their children and families. We are not governed by thresholds or time frames, we aim to empower and support in women taking back control of their own lives.

Cherished is free, confidential and open to all women without prejudice.

The Cherished group is run by a variety of facilitators with a background of child protection, social work, child development and lived experience. We do not offer advice we offer support and friendship. The group signposts individuals to other support agencies or activities/groups as needs are identified. The facilitators act as ‘mentors’ to support individuals through the steps that they choose to take. 

Lead by a professional Social Worker the project was initiated from a recognition that women are not always adequately supported in their efforts to rebuild their lives after being a survivor of a domestic abuse situation or relationship.

We are independent of statutory agencies and continue to offer support when the statutory agencies close their cases. We support women in their timeframe for as long as they need.

We support women who come into the area and help with initial settling in to local refuge. We also support women seeking refuge in the early stages of their recognising abuse.

As Cherished is linked with our core community charity we offer an easy path for women to engage and integrate into the local community – to prevent isolation and help build relationships locally.

Aims of Cherished

Our team are committed to:

• be a holistic women service that understands and takes every aspect of women’s lives into account.
• provide comprehensive, integrated and relevant services.
• continue to provide core specialist services whilst remaining dedicated to introducing new innovative services in response to need.
• develop an experienced and high quality team who are empowered through our shared ethos and values.
• provide an environment that is created upon safety, acceptance and respect.
• continue to partner with other lead services in providing support and services to address unmet need and overcoming barriers.
• be a service that uses gender-responsive guiding principles in creating an environment that reflects and understands the realities of the lives of women that addresses and responds to their strengths and challenges.

Background of Need

Domestic Abuse affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men over their lifetime.  The financial cost of domestic abuse to Police and other agencies, e.g. Courts, Health and Social Services, of having to investigate a murder is currently around tens of thousands of pounds a time.  The cost, in both human and economic terms, is so significant that even marginally effective interventions are cost effective. (NICE Domestic abuse and abuse - how services can respond effectively (PH50) Issued: February 2014)

Research also demonstrates that peer support can be extremely beneficial for victims of domestic abuse.

The need to improve the experience for victims of crime has been included in the local Police and Crime Commissioner plan.

According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending March 2019, an estimated 5.7% of adults (2.4 million) experienced domestic abuse in the previous year. The police recorded a total of 1,316,800 domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes in the year ending March 2019. Of these, 746,219 were recorded as domestic abuse-related crimes, an increase of 24% from the previous year.

A cross Government Home Select Committee were told in mid-April 2020, “Domestic abuse killings doubled over a 21-day period in the lockdown and a national abuse helpline received 49% more calls”. In its report, the committee said the UK, like countries around the world, had seen a rise in domestic abuse since the lockdown restrictions came into effect in March 2020. Calls to Refuge increased by 49% in the week before 15 April, domestic abuse charity Chayn reported that visits to its website had trebled in March 2020. This trend has continued into 2021.

Research by Counting Dead Women calculated at least 16 domestic abuse killings of women and children had taken place in the first three weeks of the lockdown. This is double the average rate and the largest number of killings in a three-week period for a decade.”

Overview of the Cherished Programme & Associated Services

In 2013 we set up a group called ‘Cherished’ offering a safe place for women affected by Domestic abuse to come during the week for ‘coffee, cake and chat’. As a starting point the group invited women who are either due to attend or have attended the Freedom Programme. This programme also runs as a 12 week rolling programme with us. 

In 2014 we expanded the services to include the ‘Cherished Recovery Toolkit’ course which is also a 12 week programme. The Recovery Toolkit has been written by Rockpool C.I.C. and is recommended for use by AVA. Its aim is to assist any individual no longer living with the perpetrator or their perpetrator is on a recognised perpetrator programme. The programme is designed to assist each lady in looking at ways to develop positive lifestyle coping strategies. 

In 2016 the Cherished programme extended again to offer the ‘Cherished Parenting’ course. Based on the Women’s Aid 'You and Me, Mum' training course it is aimed at ladies attending Cherished who struggle with some of the basics of parenting a child effected by domestic abuse. These ladies  need practical support, but also a space they trust, to develop their understanding of  the child/parent relationship, post abuse. And to look at practical ways to address behavioural issues experienced by children living in a home more akin to a war zone..

The Cherished Coffee Cake and Chat  is currently used as a first step for victims who may be overwhelmed by the thought of attending a 12 week programme. By visiting us they will be welcomed and recognise it as a safe place to be. They will meet other ladies who are experts by their experience, breaking that feeling of feeling alone and isolated is heart warming to new ladies.  In time they develop the confidence to attend the Freedom Programme and/or other similar programmes (such as recovery toolkit, parenting, drug/alcohol rehabilitation, employment support, self-esteem/confidence building etc) which will take place in the same building, often at the same time. On completion of the courses/programmes the participants can continue to attend the group if they feel they need on-going support and the Centre will work with them and hopefully encourage them and their families into wider community activities and support offered in the local community. The mix of the victims in the early stages of their recovery journey to the victims who have made life changing discoveries empowers both groups of women to make safer choices.

Recently a Family Support Worker phoned with 4 new referrals, and said that her client (who we were already cherishing), had said “over the time we have been working together Cherished is the best thing you have offered me, why did you not tell me before”. The worker was so grateful she said she could concentrate on the children now and not have to worry for the mum.

Overview of the Freedom Programme

The 12 week programme (repeated on a rolling basis) is open to women 16+ who want to learn more about the reality of domestic violence and abuse in relationships. Each session runs for 2 hours per week and explores the abusive tactics, controlling behaviours and belief systems of the dominator and the effects on Victim's health and well-being

As it is a rolling programme the women can start the programme at any point and can catch up on any missed sessions when they are repeated.

We understand how hard it can be to attend a programme for the first time which is why we arrange to meet/talk to participants beforehand to explain the programme and answer any questions they may have.

During Lockdown, we went from supporting our local town and surrounding area, to being able to support our County wide. Since the second and subsequent Lockdowns, we are 1 of only 17 agencies offering Freedom from their official website for the UK, Scotland, and Wales. Many agencies have also had to furlough staff, so our service is meeting women from much further afield, and a larger audience. The growth in requests to join Freedom forced us to open a further session each week. Running an evening programme has always been a target, mainly to meet the needs of working women, but during Lockdown it is more accessible of mothers home-schooling.  The evening programme has proven, in pilot, to be a great success and we are seeking funding to develop this further and as a permanent session in our weekly calendar.

This project successfully funded on 26th March 2021