International Day of Families 2021
Help for the whole family on International Day of Families
Domestic abuse can affect everyone in the family – from parents and children, to extended family and close friends.
To mark International Day of Families, we wanted to tell you a bit more about our whole family service. We’ve designed our service to give us the best possible chance of achieving our ambitious vision:
“A healthy community where adults and children can live free from the fear of domestic abuse.”
The best way for us to achieve this vision is to provide support to anyone affected by domestic abuse, so that’s exactly what we do.
Help for domestic abuse survivors
Domestic abuse comes in all shapes and sizes. We help women and men, people in same-sex relationships, people with or without children. We help people who’ve experienced child abuse, elder abuse and adolescent-to-parent abuse – as well as people who’ve been abused by their current or former partner.
We support domestic abuse survivors in several ways:
Temporary crisis accommodation
Support groups
Recovery programmes
Counselling
Safety planning
Helping you to understand abuse
Helping you to spot red flags / warning signs
Training & employment opportunities
Visit our get help pages to find out more.
Help for children affected by domestic abuse
Our brains develop faster between birth and age five than at any other time in our lives. So if children experience trauma during their early years, the effects can last a lifetime.
That’s why early intervention is so important when it comes to domestic abuse. And when we say “early intervention” we mean that in two distinct ways:
Removing children from abusive environments at the earliest opportunity – to give them the best chance of recovery from childhood trauma
Helping children to talk about their emotions from an early age – so they can identify and acknowledge the way they feel and learn strategies for coping with emotionally traumatic experiences throughout their lives
We created Monkey Bob – a colourful character who children love – to help children affected by domestic abuse to talk about their wishes and feelings. You can find out more about him on the Monkey Bob website.
We also help children with…
Temporary crisis accommodation
One-to-one support
Age-appropriate recovery programmes
Counselling & handling emotional trauma
Visit our get help for children page to find out more.
Help for people who harm
Our whole family service includes support for people who harm. It’s a really important part of what we do, because we simply cannot achieve our vision without helping everyone affected by domestic abuse.
Abuse is about control and coercion – dominance of one person over the other within a relationship – so it doesn’t even have to be physical. Arguing, conflict, shouting, intimidation, walking on eggshells and other controlling behaviours are all signs of abuse. You don’t have to hit someone to be an abuser.
We know it’s not easy admitting you need help. It takes guts to admit your behaviour is harmful and even more strength to actually do something about it. We know that because we’ve helped hundreds of people who harm to turn things around.
We can help those who harm with…
Therapeutic support
Practical support
Behavioural change programmes
If you’re worried about your own harmful behaviour, perhaps it’s time for a fresh start? Pick up the phone or drop us an email. Get in touch in whichever way you feel comfortable doing and let’s take it from there. We’re not here to judge. We’re here to help. Visit our website to find out more about how we can help you turn things around.
Help for concerned friends and family members
Being a bystander to an abusive relationship can be truly heartbreaking. Maybe you’re providing a supportive shoulder to cry on. Perhaps you have an unspoken understanding about what’s happening. Maybe your friend or family member doesn’t even know they’re in an abusive relationship, but it’s clear to you that something’s not quite right. Either way, we’re here to help you too.
There’s plenty of information on our website for concerned friends and relatives. Have a read of our Is it abuse? page if you’re not sure where to start. And visit our What can I do to help? and FAQs pages for more about how you can support your loved one.
Remember, however frustrating it feels for you… however defensive your friend or relative becomes about their relationship… however many times you have the same conversations with them… they really, really need you. Please don’t give up on them. You can contact us at any time if you need someone to talk to.
We know that families come in all shapes and sizes. One family’s really weird is another family’s perfectly normal. But no adult or child in any family should ever have to experience domestic abuse.
Our whole family service is here on International Day of Families and every other day of the year. Contact us now and we’ll help you and your family move towards a brighter, happier future.