Nottinghamshire Women's Aid

Offering Choices, Improving Lives

What is Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd?

The organisation Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd (previously known as Bassetlaw Women's Aid Ltd) was established in 1984 as a Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee to meet the needs of women with or without children who had experienced physical, emotional, sexual or economic abuse. Initially the organisation's aims were to meet the immediate needs of those women and children by providing support and a temporary place of safety in the Refuge. The organisation has gradually extended its accommodation to include a larger Refuge and further funding provides twelve houses with support. These services offer stability for the women and their children experiencing domestic violence. Over the years an Outreach service has been developed covering both urban and rural areas and we now also have a women, young people and children's Centre, Floating Support Service and a Children's Outreach and Resettlement Service. Together these provide and extensive range of services for women, young people and children in Nottinghamshire.

For other women's groups in the Nottinghamshire area please look on our "Links" page.

Refuge
Children's Services
Domestic Violence Floating Support/Outreach Work
The Farr Centre
Supported Housing Scheme

Refuge
The Refuge aims to meet the immediate housing and support needs of women and children who are escaping abuse by offering temporary accommodation in a safe and secure environment. We offer the women and their children the support required to help them adapt to their new situation and provide information directly about sources of help. Staff also aim to empower women by encouraging them to determine their own future without prejudice or persuasion.

Children's Services
Children's Services provide support individually to children and their mothers. Children's workers will attend appointments with children and women where necessary, liaise with other agencies on behalf of women and children, provide leisure activities and opportunities for play and facilitate groups for both women and their children to allow them to share experiences and coping strategies.

Children's services will also offer support to women with the aim of raising awareness and understanding of their children's experiences of domestic violence and therefore enable them to meet their children's needs in a positive and supportive way.

Domestic Violence Floating Support/Outreach Work
Domestic Violence Outreach service ensures that women experiencing domestic violence that wish to remain in their own properties or have recently left abusive relationships can access support to explore feelings and concerns around the abuse, address any related issues and look at interventions and strategies to promote their safety and well-being. Women who may wish to leave violent relationships are given practical and emotional support to access refuge or other suitable accommodation, information on interventions and options. These may be planned moves or crisis interventions. Women are supported in making and following through their own informed decisions to determine their own futures.

The Farr Centre
The Farr Centre is a safe women, young people and children only space that provides support, information, advice, guidance, training both educational and vocational in a wide variety of subjects to all women in the community especially those who are experiencing domestic abuse, poverty, unemployment and other changes to their lives. We enable women to develop skills through involvement in social activities, to become confident, self aware and assertive in order that they may take control of their lives through self-determination.

Supported Housing
The Supported Housing Scheme with twelve tenancies, run in partnership with Nottingham Community Housing Association, enables women who are or have experienced domestic violence to sustain Assured Short Hold tenancies through ongoing support and resettlement work up to the time the women determine this is no longer necessary. To recognise the varied and individual needs of each woman and reflecting this in the personal support plan two properties are solely for women with issues of domestic violence and substance misuse and are managed on temporary tenancies.

Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd is a Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in England and Wales number 1822489 and a Registered Charity Number 513843
© nottswa last updated on 10 Dec 2008