Spotlight: The specialist organisations delivering Make a Change’s survivor support
To mark International Women’s Day, we're spotlighting the inspiring specialist organisations that deliver survivor support as part of Make a Change. Many of them are rooted in the women’s sector and are helping hundreds of women and girls to lead safer, happier lives.
At Make a Change, we work with highly skilled specialist organisations that deliver vital frontline services to survivors of domestic abuse as part of our model for addressing people using harmful behaviour in their intimate relationships. We call this an integrated support service (ISS).
The ISS forms a core pillar of the Respect Standard – the guideline Respect uses to support services to deliver safe and effective work. In line with the Standard, the Make a Change behaviour programme prioritises the safety and freedom (Space for Action, Kelly 2003) for adult and child survivors.
Graphic featuring extract on the integrated support service from the Respect Standard
In practice, this means that wherever we work with partners to deliver Make a Change, we also work with local survivor services to provide independent, confidential and specialist support for the participant’s partner and/or ex-partner. This support is designed to be adaptable to local contexts, existing expertise and partnership arrangements.
We provide survivors with updates on their partner’s progress in the behaviour change programme, which allows them to make informed and safe decisions. This bolsters survivor’s sense of agency and autonomy.
At the same time, we seek feedback from survivors to understand the impact that the behaviour change programme is having on their lives and whether the change we are seeing is genuine and leading to the desired outcomes of survivor safety and autonomy.
Below we shine a light on the specialist survivor services we work with across Coventry, Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland to uphold Make a Change as a survivor-centred and community-wide early response to people causing harm in their intimate relationships.
Changing Lives
Changing Lives started out as a homelessness charity 50 years ago in the North East. Today they support women and men experiencing some of the most challenging circumstances linked to homlessness, including domestic abuse.
Through their specialist support, they aim to reduce the long-term risk of violence and abuse, helping people to live safely and independently. They support people by providing them with information and advice, so that they can make informed decisions about what support they need.
Changing Lives also run dedicated women’s centres and services for those at risk or struggling with challenging circumstances with a focus on recovery, resilience and community integration.
Changing Lives work with Harbour in Newcastle to provide an integrated support service to survivors coming to them through Make a Change.
Harbour
Harbour is a specialist domestic abuse charity that has been supporting individuals and families across the North East of England since 1974.
Harbour is a member of Women’s Aid Federation of England (Women’s Aid) and was established by a group of women who came together to set up a refuge to meet the needs of women and children in Hartlepool fleeing violence and abuse.
Since then, they have taken on more refuges and serve communities in both Newcastle and Durham. They work in partnership with Changing Lives in Newcastle and provide both the behaviour change programme and integrated support service for Make a Change in Durham.
Coventry Haven Women’s Aid
Coventry Haven Women’s Aid (Coventry Haven) provides specialist services for women and children affected by domestic abuse. Coventry Haven is a member of Women’s Aid and an agency run ‘by women, for women’ and their children experiencing and surviving domestic violence and abuse.
Coventry Haven is committed to providing quality services to any woman experiencing any form of domestic violence and abuse including sexual violence, Forced Marriage, Honour Based Abuse and Female Genital Mutilation.
Coventry Haven works with Panahghar and Relationships Coventry and Warwickshire to deliver an integrated support service for partners and ex-partners of participants on the Make a Change programme in Coventry.
Panahghar
Panahghar is a by and for organisation founded in 1980 in Coventry. It means ‘safehouse’ in Urdu and was specifically chosen so that Asian women could understand what they stood for: a place of safety and protection.
Panahghar describes that they began as a women-led charity to provide safe refuge to Asian women in Coventry, before their services expanded to include refuge, support, advice and outreach to Black and minoritised survivors and their families.
Panahghar also works alongside Coventry Haven and Relationships Coventry and Warwickshire to support Black and minoritised survivors in Coventry through the Make a Change programme.
Wearside Women in Need
WWIN Specialist Domestic Abuse Service (WWIN) has supported people impacted by abusive behaviour across Wearside since 1983. As Sunderland’s commissioned domestic abuse service, WWIN work with all survivors while recognising the disproportionate impact of abuse on women and girls.
The organisation offers one-to-one advocacy, safe accommodation, adult and children’s counselling, groupwork and a confidential helpline, alongside support for friends and family. They also help those wanting to stop their harmful behaviour in relationships through the Make a Change programme, delivered by WWIN project Right Turn.
Rooted in feminist values of equality, safety and justice, WWIN’s aim is to promote long-term independence for survivors while supporting meaningful behaviour change and accountability for those responsible for harm.
Make a Change is very grateful to these services for their vital work to support survivors of domestic abuse, both as an integral part of our programme and in everything they do in their local communities.