Worth Services

In 2004 WORTH began as a pilot project in a single West Sussex Hospital.  WORTH Services now has teams of IDVAs based within Emergency Departments of major West Sussex Hospitals, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Saturn Centre), as well as Sussex Police Witness Care Units.  The Service comprises a small Core Management Team, 15 IDVAs (which includes 3 male IDVAs) an ISVA and a team of Support Workers.  All victims are supported regardless of gender.  WORTH has been developed and supported in partnership by West Sussex County Council, West Sussex Primary Care Trust and Sussex Police.  WORTH is now acknowledged as an essential Core Service across West Sussex providing both crisis and recovery services for victims and their children.

Cardiff Women’s Safety Unit

The Cardiff Women’s Safety Unit (WSU) is a ground-breaking project that was established in 2001.  Practice at WSU - based on risk management, information sharing, and working to create a multi-agency response to domestic violence – helped to create the model to which most IDVA services work to today.  WSU was also instrumental in setting up the first MARAC, and in developing a common risk assessment tool (the FSU9) used by all local agencies.  The service offers ISVA services and a Paediatric Sexual Violence Advisor at the Ynys Saff SARC alongside the four IDVAs providing advocacy services.  The Dyn Project is also based within the WSU, which supports male victims of domestic abuse.

Berkshire East Family Safety Unit

Based in Slough, Berkshire East Family Safety Unit is a relatively new IDVA project attached to a well-established refuge (Berkshire East and South Bucks Women’s Aid).  The IDVA service officially opened in 2008. The team at the Family Safety Unit is made up of three IDVAs, and two specialist advocates supporting Eastern European and BME clients.  The service is hoping to add their first male advocate to the team sometime this year.  CAADA is not the first organization to recognize the good practice in place at BEFSU – last year the service was nominated for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, highly recommended at the National Charity Awards and voted Charity of the Year by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. 

Letgo

The Letgo Domestic Violence Advocacy Service is a split-site service based in Penrith, Cumbria. Together, the two teams comprise 7 IDVAs covering Eden and rural Carlisle, as well as Carlisle City. Alongside offering IDVA services, Letgo also provides perpetrator programmes, children’s work (including play therapy) and access to expert legal advice. Within Eden and rural Carlisle, the service is also able to provide longer term support for victims of domestic abuse. Both services within the unit undertake developmental and awareness raising work within the community. Letgo is part of the parent organisation Impact Housing which also provides refuge and safe house accommodation and domestic abuse floating support, and reports to the Cumbria Domestic Violence Strategic Board. Cumbria Constabulary notifies Letgo of all domestic violence incidents reported to the police in the Letgo area. The service supports the specialist domestic violence courts in Penrith and Carlisle and the North Cumbria MARAC.