Redcar & Cleveland Women's Aid is not only a refuge. We provide a range of services designed to offer you a comprehensive support service, to help you through any situation you may be in.
	Outreach					Floating Support
	Support Groups					The Freedom Programme
	Redcar & Cleveland Domestic Violence Forum
	Redcar & Cleveland Women's Aid offers support from when you first contact the organisation, to when you no longer feel you need it, and feel confident to live independently. All the support offered is individual and flexible. We recognise the tough decisions you may have to make, and will not judge you or try to persuade you. We will work at your speed, supporting you to make your decisions. Upon first contact with the organisation, you may not feel that you want to turn your life upside down and take any action. You may just want to test the water and see what options are available. We can offer an outreach service where we will visit you to listen to you, to give you advice on your options, and give you support in your home. You may also wish to join on of our support groups, to receive support from other women who have had similar experiences. This may also be a time when The Freedom Programme could help arm you with the facts about domestic violence, and why your partner is abusive to you. If you decide you would like to leave the violence, we could then arrange for you to come to the refuge. You would receive daily support in a comprehensive range of issues. We will support you through welfare, housing, health, legal and educational issues, to emotional support and any issues affecting the children. We have a dedicated Child Care Co-ordinator, to support the children through any issues they have. If you decide you do not want to come into the refuge, and would still like to leave your situation, we can still offer to support you on an outreach basis. Alternatively, our refuge may not be safe for you, it may be too near to your abuser for security. We can help you escape the area and get to a different refuge where you will not be found. We are part of a network of 200 refuges throughout the country, and can help you access all of them. If you are rehoused from the refuge, we will offer you our Floating Support Service. This is there to help you settle into your new home and your new community. We will help you through any issues that arise once you have left the refuge. You can have the support until you feel comfortable and confident to live independently, and is designed with your needs in mind. If, however you decide that the time is not right for you, and you leave the refuge and return home to your partner, you are not alone. Many women do this. You can always return another time, day or night. We recognise how difficult it is to leave a relationship, as well as your home and your community, so if you want we will continue to support you on an outreach basis. In both cases our support groups, and the Freedom Programme are available to you. If you ever need to come back to the refuge again - that's fine, you will be welcomed back any time. Remember it can take many attempts to leave a violent partner, and each time might give you a little more strength and belief in yourself.
	Outreach							Top
	Whether you are still living with domestic violence, or you have escaped and are still living with its effects, you can receive outreach support. We will arrange to meet you in a safe space where you will receive emotional support and a wide range of advice and help to give you all your options. This support can be given to you in your home if it is safe, or we can find a safer place to meet and talk.
	Floating Support							Top
	If you are rehoused after living in the refuge, you can receive ongoing support through this service. It is designed to help you settle into your new home and new community giving help with a wide range of practical and emotional issues. The service is extremely flexible and is there to meet your individual needs. Support covers, emotional support, housing, welfare and legal issues; it also will assist you to access other support on offer to you in the area.
	Support Groups							Top
	We run two support groups in the area. They offer a range of activities and information. They also offer group support from women who have been, or are still in similar situations as you. Crèches are provided.
	The Freedom Programme							Top
	‘An enlightening opportunity to develop different ways of thinking to protect yourself and your children from harm.’ The programme looks at why men abuse their partners and children, and to recognise the beliefs that they hold which allow them to do it. It is a 12-week rolling programme, so you can start at any time, there is no waiting.
	Redcar & Cleveland Domestic Violence Forum							Top
	This is a group made up of many different agencies and organisations who all come into contact with people suffering domestic violence. It is dedicated to improving the response that people suffering from it receive, from all the agencies in the borough.