Since 1987, The Liberty Centre has supported survivors to deal with the multiple complex issues associated with domestic abuse in order to help them rebuild their lives. We work from a point of crisis and offer support to meet the short and long-term needs of the people we work with.  We provide a seamless service for women who are in refuge, assisting their resettlement in the community by providing support to access appropriate community services.  In addition, we also provide support to women, men and children in their own homes to minimise risk and provide the best outcomes for families.

The Liberty Programme, which is a specialist domestic abuse programme, provides survivors with insight around their experience of domestic abuse with a focus on empowerment to enable survivors to move on with their lives.  

How The Liberty Centre supports our communities:

We support our communities by providing a flexible person-centred service which includes;

• Women’s Domestic Outreach Worker

• Men’s Domestic Outreach Worker

• Safe at Home service

• Resettlement Service

• Speciality development programme for women who have experienced domestic abuse

• Peer support for both women and men

• 24-hour helpline

• Counselling

Community Support

When supporting people and their families in the community, we will work in partnership with the family to develop a plan that enables them to stay safe at home. The plan will consist of working with solicitors, potentially going to court regarding court injunctions and child arrangement orders, and advocating for the client with children’s services to local housing officers and the Police. As our service is not time-limited, the support plan can be ongoing to ensure the client is supported in all aspects of moving forward until the client is ready to move on. In addition, based on our experience of how trauma can impact victims long after they have separated from the perpetrator, our support continues in the form of support groups and online chat groups for as long as required.

Refuge

The refuge is secure safe accommodation for women and their families at risk. Working together with the client, a support plan will be developed and a risk assessment completed. Using a person-centred approach, we will work with women to access education and employment and look at finance and legal support. We will address any health issues and educate the clients about healthy relationships and how to identify signs of abusive behaviour. We will support families throughout the process of helping them move on. Additionally, they will receive support from our community service, providing a streamlined process from safe housing back into the community. If families move out of the area, we will support them to access services in the new area.

Children in refuge

Initially, when meeting the children, we approach them with a welcoming, friendly and fun attitude, inviting them to attend exciting and enjoyable 1:1 and group activities, such as; crafts, Lego building, role play etc. This allows the children to get to know us and feel more comfortable in our company. Once the children have had time to settle in, we will create a support plan based solely on each child’s individual needs; this enables us to set and achieve goals and provide worthwhile and vital support.

A Survivor’s Story:

In September 2001, me and my 2 children finally fled to refuge after a 7 year relationship of constant financial, emotional and physical abuse. I was so anxious and ashamed at the thought of having to access refuge, I didn’t want my family to know what had been happening, I was worried they would think that I was weak or that I had been the cause of it all. I felt overwhelmed with guilt about uprooting my children, all these thoughts and scenarios were what kept me in the relationship for so long. until one day, I was attacked so brutally in front of my 2 young children, I realised then I was putting my children in danger by staying and if I didn’t get out soon, how would it end? After this attack, I knew I had to escape, the following morning when my He left for work I found the courage to report him to the police for the first time.

We were then taken to a refuge, miles from home, I had never been so frightened, I didn’t know what to expect at all. When I entered the building and met the staff, my anxiety and worry decreased dramatically, I was made to feel so welcome and safe and it was lovely to be around people who understood. The staff worked so hard, helping me to access my own finances again, enabling me to access a counselling service for emotional support and I attended “The Liberty Programme” which helped me to make sense of everything that had happened, in order to enable me to put things behind me and look forward to a bright and positive future. Staff supported me with getting my children in to new schools, with health care, accessing housing and so much more.

“I want to say thank you to everyone at The Liberty Centre for helping me, I appreciate every single thing you did for me, you believed in me and empowered me, and without you, I would not have had the courage to do this”. – Anonymous

If you need help and support with domestic abuse, call today on 0808 100 3062 or visit 

www.thelibertycentre.org.uk