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Ref: 467/07 05 December 2007
Cheshire’s Lifeline To Families Living With Domestic Abuse
“Be safe – get help with domestic abuse”, is the message from Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership which has marked Domestic Violence Awareness Week with a new leaflet outlining the range of help and advisory services available to men, women and family members.
The leaflet poses the question: “Are you living in fear of your partner or family member”, assures victims they are not to blame, not alone, there is help, and they can get lives back on track. The leaflet steers families towards a 0808 2000 247 National Helpline but also lists teams of support workers in Chester, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Halton, Macclesfield, Vale Royal and Warrington. Copies of the leaflet can be obtained via 01244 973248.
The Week is also the tenth anniversary of Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership, an organisation which brings together county and district local authorities and help agencies. As partners celebrate with a birthday lunch CDAP Co-ordinator Sue Bridge adds: ‘We are proud of the services we’ve developed over these last 10 years and the courage people show by working with them to protect themselves and their children.
“Ideally we wouldn’t want to be around for another decade because we strive for communities where abuse is no longer acceptable. But while there are still people who need support we are determined to work together, to keep them safe and enable them to recover’.
CDAP was established in December 1997 based on an initiative by Cheshire County Council and using the expertise of existing Women’s Aid refuge services. A series of multi-agency training occasions were introduced and now the Partnership can call on 5,000 practitioners all able to help and support families with future safety and recovery.
It set a national lead, and three years after its foundation, attracted Home Office “Violence Against Women” funding to enable a project, an outreach service for women, to assist police to get better evidence, to provide school-based preventative work and enable the partnership to monitor the outcome.
The Outreach Service is now known as the Domestic Abuse Family Safety Unit which with link to the police and each year helps more than 400 Cheshire women, men and their children, to be safer and stronger.
Following the Home Office specialist services were set up for children too including the Safeguarding Children in Education, Refuge Child Workers, Jigsaw Programme, therapeutic group work for children in the aftermath of living with domestic abuse. Further initiatives led to increased numbers of offenders brought to justice, particularly through Chester Specialist Domestic Violence Court as CDAP partners continue to encourage reporting and reduce repeated abuse. Most recently a system of Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferencing has seen agencies come together to protect and support those at the very highest risk of harm.
But CDAP also works to address abusive behaviour at source. The first ‘Changing Places’ programme for young people and Lifeline Voluntary Perpetrator Programme for men have been running for over eighteen months.
“No one deserves to be abused and anyone needing help for themselves or their friends or family can get in touch with the wide range of services now available,” added Sue Bridge.
Note to Editors:
Further details available from: Cheshire Domestic Abuse Partnership Co-ordinators Sue Bridge and Judith Gibson Tel. 01244 972915 and 07818 002157 |