It is vital that the refuge is in an area where the victim is not known and where the perpetrator has no family or contacts, so we work with the victim to find suitable safe accommodation. While this is a scary time, we make every effort to support you with fleeing safely and making sure you feel welcome and safe while you are with us.

As well as our twelve unit purpose built refuge, Haven House, we have three dispersed properties and two move on properties, which each house one family. The dispersed properties can be used for male victims of domestic abuse, larger families, those with cultural needs and have disabled access. The move on properties are for families who are ready to move on from refuge, but are waiting for local authority housing to be offered.

Within Haven House each family has their own secure en suite bedroom. The living rooms, kitchens and utility/laundries are shared between families.

Refuge staff are based on site to ensure that immediate support is available, should a resident need it. We also operate an on call system to ensure that a member of staff is always contactable during out of hours, to ensure the safety of our residents.

Haven House has been labelled as a ‘sanctuary’ by some of the families with whom we work. Counselling and emotional support in our ‘drop in’ room enables residents to have private conversations and open to staff to receive the much needed support that they need and deserve. The IT room allows us to offer courses and group sessions with residents, such as the Freedom and, Hope 2 Recovery programmes and budgeting sessions. All the courses help residents build their freedom for their future, whilst promoting independence and giving them the tools to move forward to an abuse free life. The playroom and sensory room are well equipped for our Child Support Workers to give children a space to be ‘free’ and have fun. We also use the spaces to offer one to one sessions with children, listen to their worries, support them and educate them around healthy relationships. The sensory room has been described as ‘relaxing, calm and healing’.

Our staff go above and beyond to provide a place of safety and support for residents. As well as emotional and practical support around domestic abuse, we facilitate regular activities with our families: days out, cookery or arts and crafts sessions, food festivals and we have even hatched our own ducks! No day is the same, and we strive to make sure we equip families to flourish once they leave our doors.