Communites and Culture Committee

Scrutiny Inquiry : Domestic Abuse

Response from Aberconwy Women’s Aid

We submit this report to provide you with information about our services.

Autonomous from Welsh Women’s Aid and regional Domestic abuse Co-ordinators, Aberconwy Women’s Aid essentially provides highly specialised frontline services to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. We would like to draw the Committee’s attention to these services and in the strategic inputs we have on a local level. The purpose of this is to;

Provide the Committee with information on the range of services that are provided locally

Ask the Committee to consider the impact of decisions taken by Local Authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government on front line service providers such as ourselves

Highlight our serious concerns over the future funding of the services provided by Aberconwy Women’s Aid

Introduction

Aberconwy Women’s Aid was founded some fifteen years ago and during this time we have provided the invaluable facility of refuge accommodation. In addition, we have also provided a range of other services that specifically aim to reduce the risk to, and maximise the safety of, survivors of domestic abuse. It is also our aim to develop these services so that we can continue to provide the optimum level of support to our service users. Whilst our refuge facility remains a vital and necessary part of our service, it is only one element of a package of specialised support that survivors can access.

Aberconwy Women’s Aid is the first group in Wales to have attained the Investors in People National Standard and we also have the Legal Services Commission Quality Mark. The staff are skilled and experienced with a variety of qualifications. This ensures that we are able to respond to the many needs of today’s victim/survivor. We have attained a wide cross section of relevant qualifications including:

Risk Assessment and Safety Planning
Teaching
Training
Counselling
Bookkeeping
Administration
Mental health
Paediatric first aid
Benefits advice
Housing
Management

Three staff members have completed the Teeside University (Domestic Abuse) Certificates, and in September, all workers will commence NVQ level 3 in Management Training and the Institute of Leadership and Management level 3.

The Range of Services Offered by Aberconwy Women’s Aid.

We give expert and independent domestic abuse support which always includes Risk Assessment and Safety Planning.

We have 24 hour direct access to our own refuge and are able to access refuge provision throughout the country (only hampered through lack of funding to transport women).

Aberconwy Women’s Aid supports women who choose to remain in their own homes and assists them in accessing Target Hardening home safety equipment.

Under Supporting People funding, and for a period of 6 months, we assist women who are rehoused from our refuge, in maintaining their tenancy.

Aberconwy Women’s Aid runs a weekly women’s support group, which provides mutual support to service users and aims to reduce the social isolation experienced by many women who have been in abusive relationships. It also aims to provide continued support to women who have left the refuge and are no longer receiving Resettlement support.

The provision of Outreach Support is limited because we receive no specific funding to provide this service. However, we endeavour to provide support wherever possible, for example, courts, CAFCASS, solicitors, schools, etc.

Children’s support - we have two children’s sessional support workers funded by Children in Need. We also have a 16 hour family support worker post funded by Sure Start, to help to integrate the families into the community.

We have an Information Centre at the Town Hall with a drop-in facility, which is only funded for 16 hours a week. Ideally it would be beneficial if we were able to provide cover for 5 days a week.

We provide Training and Awareness Raising for other agencies. Recent examples of this are with North Wales Police, Fire Safely Units, student nurses, doctors and midwives.

We work in schools. Recently we had contact with over 300 year 7 pupils during 'Crucial Crew’.

In addition to these services, we attend the Conwy Domestic Abuse Forum, the MARAC and the Domestic Abuse Family Safety Unit Steering Group.

Issues around Service Provision

Lack of core funded posts - in April 07 we were forced to make two workers redundant due to a lack of increase in funding. This reduction in funding for workers seriously threatens service provision.

We understand that until this Inquiry by the Communities and Culture Committee, there has been no audit of domestic abuse service provision in Wales. We hope that this process will ensure that future funding will secure front line services such as Aberconwy Women’s Aid, and avoid the costly implications of duplicating services. We welcome this process in the hope that consideration will be given to provide secure funding to enable us to continue to provide front line services.

We would like to respectfully enquire as to whether the Committee would consider funding domestic abuse directly at a local level as well as considering funding national organisations such as Welsh Women’s Aid? We believe it would give better value for money.

The positive evaluations from women who have attended the Freedom Programme would suggest that they are less likely to have future abusive relationships. However, due to lack of funding Aberconwy Women’s Aid has been unable to provide this facility.

Communal living in refuges is very difficult. We would like to be able to provide, in the not too distant future, en-suite facilities for the women and children we support.

We are grateful for the time you have taken to read this report, and would be happy to meet with the Committee to answer any questions about our organisation.