Accommodation

What is a refuge?

A refuge is safe temporary accommodation for anyone escaping domestic abuse. Safer Places has 8 refuges across Essex and Hertfordshire, including specialist therapeutic refuge spaces for women with multiple needs and women with no recourse to public funding. Safer Places have refuges suitable for all genders, although because our referrals are mostly for women and children, most of our refuge spaces are for women or women and children only.

Our accommodation includes a combination of self-contained flats; large and small communal buildings where residents have a private bedroom and share other rooms i.e. bathrooms, kitchens and lounges. In order to ensure the safety of those living in the refuge, the address of the refuge is kept confidential.

What support is available?

A refuge is much more than a 'bed for the night' or a safe space to stay. Our qualified team support each resident with their individual needs, empowering them to make choices about their future and ultimately to live a life free from abuse and fear. Our staff work alongside clients to help them recover from their experience of abuse, providing emotional and practical support.

Support often includes:

Individual Safety planning
Assessment and Support planning
Weekly support sessions with a key worker
Supported sign posting for support in accessing specialist agencies i.e. Mental health teams, Drugs/Alcohol
Free Counselling
In house legal surgeries
Information and support on applying for benefits, Debt counselling, housing
Family fun sessions, trips and activities
Domestic Abuse trauma informed awareness programmes
Specialist support for children

"My son and I have enjoyed our stay here. The staff have made us feel welcome and treated us with respect. We have also been on trips when kids have been on holiday planned by Safer Places. I have been on so many courses and been awarded certificates for them. I have also received counselling which has helped me a great deal. My support worker has gone out of her way to support me and my family. All the staff have been amazing. All the courses have helped boost my confidence and coming here has made me ready to go back out there to live a normal life again. Thanks to all the staff from Safer Places. Keep up the good work"

How do you access refuge?

Our Gateway team are available 24/7 to help you find a refuge place - please call them on 03301 025 811

What happens when you leave refuge?

After leaving Safer Places accommodation, survivors and families can choose to access Outreach support.

If you are in immediate danger or in the event of an emergency always dial 999

Latest

DASH training 02/12/2020

DASH – Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Abuse Risk Identification, Assessment and Management Model.
DASH training 07/12/2020

DASH – Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Abuse Risk Identification, Assessment and Management Model.
DASH training 06/11/2020

DASH – Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Abuse Risk Identification, Assessment and Management Model.
Trustee

This is a great volunteering opportunity for an individual committed to working towards a world where everyone lives a life free from abuse and fear, within an organisation that is passionate and focused on bringing about positive and long-lasting change to the lives of adults and children impacted by abuse.

Stalking Advocacy Service

The Safer Places Stalking Advocacy team is made up of professional staff offering short to medium term support to women and men affected by stalking in the community.
Children's Services

With the support of Children in Need funding we deliver a therapeutic Children's Service to families living in our refuges in Hertfordshire this includes play, drama, art and craft, talking. We work with the survivor and their child to rebuild and attune relationships, to support the child to make sense of their world, to help parents to be better equipped with supporting their child’s difficulties and offer a safe and contained space where the child can express their thoughts and feelings.

Live Chat Launch

Safer Places launches new Live Chat service. The new service enables anyone experiencing abuse to chat directly with a member of the Safer Places team. The measures announced to tackle coronavirus (COVID 19) have seen day to day life change dramatically and undoubtedly made it harder for people to access support services as survivors are isolated with abusers with small windows of opportunity to speak. This new service will give survivors the opportunity to access support discreetly.
Safer Places response to the Domestic Abuse Bill second reading announcement

The Domestic Abuse Bill will return to Parliament tomorrow, Tuesday 28th April. Janet Dalrymple, CEO of Safer Places said “We are pleased to see the bill progressing through parliament, especially during this particularly worrying time for survivors of abuse"
Family Life in Refuge

Hello there! My name is Lauren Taylor and I work for Safer Places as a Senior Family Domestic Abuse Practitioner (I know, what a mouthful right?). Thankfully when it comes to working with the amazing kids within the refuges I just introduce myself as someone wanting to make them feel as safe and happy as possible, that usually goes down a little better! So I was asked by one of my lovely colleagues to write a blog……and after several days of researching what a blog actually is, here I am.
Ask for J Campaign

Today Safer Places launch the ‘Ask for J’ campaign across Essex. As local businesses begin to re-open their doors to members of the community the ‘Ask for J’ campaign opens the door to support for those experiencing abuse.
Safer Places receives emergency funding to bolster refuge service provision

Safer Places receives £15,000 emergency funding from Essex Community Foundation to bolster refuge service provision
Safer Places response to the second reading of the Domestic Abuse Bill

Safer Places respond to the second reading of the Domestic Abuse Bill. Rachel Millar, Senior Policy Officer for Safer Places said: “Safer Places are pleased to see the Bill progress through parliament, especially during this worrying time when urgent action is needed to protect survivors. We were particularly pleased to hear just how many MP’s spoke with passion and championed the voices of survivors’ and children whist highlighting matters of concern not currently addressed within the Bill.
Safer Places receives emergency COVID 19 funding
Running Refuges - The Risk and Impact of COVID 19

It is almost 6 months now since on March 13th I sat with my colleagues Jayne and Allison and talked about what would happen if this new virus took hold. The death toll in the UK had risen to 11 that day and there had been a surge in infections taking the total infected across the UK to almost 800. We laughed a fair bit – partly because what we were talking about seemed unthinkable and partly because we were nervous.
Domestic Abuse Bill 2020 Part 2

The Domestic Abuse Bill has now passed through the House of Commons stage and is one step closer to becoming law having been introduced to the House of Lords; this is a formality and takes place without any debate. The date for the second hearing, where the bill will be considered, has not yet been announced.
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