This section provides information about local services in Newham which could support you if you are suffering from domestic violence. They are free and easily accessible, if you feel you require support, please feel free to contact them.
Hestia is one of the largest providers of domestic abuse refuges in London and South East and the main organisation supporting victims of modern slavery in the capital.
They provide high quality support for adults and children in crisis across London. Working in collaboration with local authorities and their partners, they strive to ensure that everyone within their care is equipped with the tools necessary for a life beyond a crisis. Their staff and volunteers build honest, respectful relationships with their service users to support and encourage them to lead their own recovery process.
To get in contact- Main Reception: +44 (0) 20 7378 3100/0808 196 1482, Voicemail box: +44 (0) 20 3879 3700
You can also drop them an email. Please use the Contact Us form or email them on [email protected]. For a secure email path please send your emails to [email protected]
Refuge staff are on hand to support each resident with her individual needs. This might include supporting women with:
- Safety planning
- Finding a safe new home
- Budgeting, debt discussions and discussing access to welfare benefits
- Accessing health services
- Finding nurseries and schools
- Accessing local community and cultural services
- Support to access civil and criminal remedies and legal advice
- Training, education and employment
Staff also provide women with emotional support. They understand what she has been through and will help to make sense of what is going on. They will not judge or tell a woman what to do. Their staff give women time and space to make their own decisions.
For more information visit their website here. Freephone, 24-hour Helpline 0808 2000 247
Man Kind initiative – Their confidential helpline is available for male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence across the UK as well as their friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues and employers. They provide an information, support and signposting service to men suffering from domestic abuse from their current or former wife, partner (including same-sex partner) or husband. This can range from physical violence or object throwing to abuse such as constant bullying or insults.
The Man Kind Initiative have also produced a directory of local services (called the Oak Book) which support male victims. Click here to access this directory.
They have a helpline available on 01823 334 244 – The helpline is a listening service which provides emotional support, practical information and signposting. They receive calls from male victims of domestic abuse across all age ranges and professions:
- From dustmen and doctors, to, bankers and builders
- From men in their 20s to men in their 80s
- From men in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The helpline also welcomes calls from friends, family members, neighbours, colleagues and employers of male victims seeking information. They also receive calls from support organisations, charities and statutory agencies such as local authorities and police forces.
Click here to visit their website for further information and support.
LONDON BLACK WOMEN’S PROJECT – They are available to support women and girls. They can help with information, housing and homelessness, safe space, healing and recovery through art, advice and advocacy, keyworking and therapeutic support. London Black Women’s Project (LBWP) presently offer the following projects and services to women and girls across London:
SAFETY AND FREEDOM PROJECT – Accommodation based refuge services for women and their children fleeing domestic violence accessed through UKROL (Refuges on Line), by referral from another agency or by self-referral.
PROJECT LIFE – Counselling and therapeutic support services to all age groups of women and girls. They will deliver initial therapeutic support and intensive mental health intervention towards an ‘outcomes based’ approach.
PROJECT EMPOWER – Legal Advice Service providing legal advice and information on areas such as domestic violence and all other forms of violence and abuse including harmful practices, resettlement and housing support, welfare and benefits rights and support to women with insecure immigration status..
PROJECT AWARE – A dedicated and specialist project working with young women and girls through advocacy, individual support and support groups addressing the normalisation, acceptance and tolerance of violence and abuse and the impact that such attitudes and behaviours have on their lives.
PROJECT FREE CHOICE – A dedicated and specialist early intervention and prevention project addressing forced marriage or supporting women and girls at risk of forced marriage through individual support, awareness raising, early intervention and advocacy.
VISION OF ME – A dedicated and specialist project working with all women and girls using artistic expression in the process of healing and recovery by exploring women and girls’ creative agency. By using art through written word, poetry, plays and other artistic expression the project seeks to empower by constructing worldviews that are free from violence and harm.
EMPOWERHOUSE – A BME women and girls’ creative arts and theatre project aimed at awareness raising of the impact of violence against women and girls using the art through narrative constructs to create common approaches and collaborative actions.
For further details visit their website here or telephone 020 8472 0528, or email [email protected].
0808 2000 247 – Free 24 hours National Domestic Violence Helpline
SignHealth provides advice and support for Deaf adults and young people experiencing domestic abuse. They deliver prevention workshops as well as closed groups for Deaf survivors.
How they offer support – From the initial contact, their team creates a support plan and develops coping strategies until the client feels ready to move on with their life independently. Throughout this process, they ensure their clients are able to navigate statutory services such as immigration, the police and courts, housing, and social services.
- Allocation of qualified Deaf IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor)
- Allocation of a Deaf YPVA (Young People’s Violence Advisor)
- Working with women’s refuges to provide support to Deaf women
- Referral when necessary to SignHealth’s one-to-one psychological therapy in British Sign Language
- Survivor Workshops for Deaf women
- Working in partnership with key national and local agencies to develop guidelines for best practice
- Guidance on laws, policy and practice to ensure the needs of Deaf people at risk of domestic abuse are recognised and fully met
For more information and support click here
The Havens – We’re here to help you if you’ve been raped or sexually assaulted in the past 12 months.
You can call us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for an initial assessment.
When we need to see you urgently, such as for a forensic medical examination (FME), we aim to see you within 90 minutes.
We also offer follow-up care, including counselling, tests and treatments.
Our medical and emotional support services are confidential. That means we won’t tell anyone you’ve contacted us or come to see us unless you want us to. And you can use any of our services without involving the police.
If you were assaulted more than 12 months ago, we can provide you with information on other organisations that can help.
Our leaflet provides further information about our services. We also have an easy read version of the leaflet.
Our self-help guide provides information about common psychological and emotional reactions to sexual assault that you might find useful.
