01382 202525
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0797 172 7068
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Principal Activities Dundee Women's Aid provides its direct service to abused women through its office at 61 Reform Street, Dundee which is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm and Tuesday from 1pm to 5pm. Phone cover is from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (answerphone only on Tuesday morning). Safe accommodation is provided in four refuges which provide a total of 16 spaces. Four spaces are specically for single women and the remainder can accommodate families. All refuge spaces within DWA provide independent living space but with communal areas which allows the women to offer and receive mutual support. A stay in refuge can range from one night or between 6months to a year, until the woman and her children have suitable alternative accommodation. This time gives the woman an opportunity to recover from the trauma of domestic abuse and plan the way forward in a safe environment. A remarkable number of women have used the refuges this year aged from 19 - 59 each with their own personalities and stories. It has been a joy to witness them move forward. However, refuge spaces continue to be in high demand. For the year ended 31 March 2007, 57 women and 52 children were accommodated. However, frustratingly for staff and service users, 74 women and 89 children could not be accommodated due to lack of space or appropriate accommodation. One-to-one support remains the main focus of work within the refuge enabling the service users to cope with the many changes in their lives, exploring emotions and building self-esteem and confidence. Each service user has a individual support plan which is reviewed and updated regularly to ensure her individual needs are being met. Support workers utilise a healthy relationship pack to work through the effects of domestic abuse. A grant from the Scottish Power People Energy Trust was very beneficial as it enabled the organisation to support a number of women when coming in to refuge with heating and lighting costs and also provided small grants to purchase energy efficient white goods when they were moving back in to the community. DWA has close links and works in partnership with a number of local agencies including staff from the Housing Department, the Lily Walker Centre, Abertay Housing Association, Hillcrest, the Aberlour Trust, Social Work, One Parent Families Scotland, Tayside Police Domestic Abuse Liaison Officer, Amina, WRASAC and Homes in Scotland. Working for Families have provided crèche facilities and bus passes. Partnership work with the welfare rights teams, benefit agencies, child and family centres and the health and homeless outreach teams is ongoing. The Adult Learning Team have kept staff informed of opportunities for service users such as short courses or employment opportunities. A sociology student at Abertay has written her dissertation on the history of DWA and this may lead to future development work. Back to top Follow-on The project aims to help women sustain their tenancies by providing support at that crucial point of re-housing from temporary accommodation. After leaving refuge, on-going practical support (follow-on service) is offered. A personal and social development plan ensures the woman's individual needs are being met - eg applying for grants, benefits, or furniture and looking at safety. If requested, after 6 weeks the woman is referred on to Outreach. Most work with women and children is 1:1 work based on the individual's needs using a personal development plan. The work has included viewing new tenancies, budgeting, safety issues, legal matters, information about the new communities and resources within it, and to work through the effects of domestic abuse using a healthy relationships pack. It has been encouraging to see women accessing training, starting college courses and volunteering. Back to top Outreach Support is also offered to women, young people and children within their own community (Outreach). During the year, the project supported 60 women; referrals came from agencies such as Social Work, Victim Support, Tayside Police, Education etc and 13 were self-referrals. Children and young people can be seen even though their mother may not have been. Violence Against Women funding enables DWA to work with community groups raising awareness and ensuring future development work. The past year has seen two additions to the outreach team - a Preventative Worker funded by the Henry Smith Charitable Trust and a Community Outreach Worker funded by the Community Regeneration Fund supported by Dundee Partnership. The two workers have had a very positive impact and enhanced the service already provided. The Preventative Worker, together with the Community Development Worker, has developed resources and materials in order that children and young people have a better understanding of relationships. These have been presented to the Education Development Service which may lead to future partnership working within education. Awareness raising, including 10 sessions with young pregnant mothers at a local secondary school, have been held exploring healthy relationships, self-esteem and gender issues. During International Women's Week the Preventative Worker sourced a variety of workshops making them known to women using the services of DWA. Many of the service users attended a variety of events and, as a result, have felt empowered to go on to attend other groups in the community. As part of the outreach team, this Community Outreach Worker is there to support families to sustain their tenancies but the worker is taking this a step further by encouraging them to take an active part in the regeneration of their own community. The Worker has made many contacts with other agencies and the exchange of information is relevant and useful for service users and workers of DWA. It has also enabled other agencies to gain an insight into the outreach service being offered. Back to top |
Dundee Womens Aid
61 Reform Street
Dundee
DD1 1SP
Crisis Line 01382 202525
Text: 07971 727 068
Business/Fax: 01382 226390
Email: dwa@dundeewomensaid.co.uk
Designed & Implemented by Chris McAndrew with the help of Dundee Womens Aid 2007