Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Information about Coronavirus (COVID-19)

What we are doing

As per Government and Public Health England advice for Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are still operating and will continue to provide services and support to those who need our services whilst taking the necessary precautions.

We want to reassure our clients, teams and partners that we are working hard to keep our services open, and make sure that the people who need support will continue to receive it during these challenging and unprecedented times. In order to do this, we are changing how we deliver our services.

We are reducing our face to face contact within our accommodation sites and all community support will be delivered by video calls, telephone or an alternative method chosen our clients.

All group activities, programmes and training are now moving onto our online platforms.

To refer into our services, please call us on 03301 025 811 or make a referral

We are actively working with local authorities to ensure that appropriate and safe accommodation is obtained as far as is possible for those who are high risk and vulnerable to the virus in order to shield them and protect our clients from the spread of the virus. We will of course use our own accommodation where safe to do so, where we do not have accommodation available, any other accommodation sought, as always is out of our control in many cases. Our extended accommodation licence sets out reasonable behaviour for our clients – we uphold these expectations to further protect our clients living in our safe accommodation, including breaches around anti-social or racist behaviour which will include being reckless and not abiding by the latest government guidance in regards to COVID 19.

As the situation with COVID-19 is developing quickly, we are following Government and public health guidance to continue delivering our front-line services whilst minimising the risk to our staff and clients.

Further information and advice will be shared through our website and social media channels as it becomes available.

For information detailing the government response please see the latest government advice

For the latest health advice please refer to the NHS guidance

Advice and guidance from the NHS is also available in a number of languages through the use of an interpreter.

Staying Safe during the pandemic

We know that this time will be a frightening one for many, but especially for those experiencing abuse. We have put together a number of resources for survivors and the community with advice on how to increase safety and manage health and well-being.

Coronavirus (COVID 19) Safety Advice

Coronavirus - The Community Response

COVID 19 - Coping Techniques

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.

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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