Help centre for domestic abuse victims opens in Beverley
Domestic violence victims in East Yorkshire will now have somewhere to turn, after a new support service opened in Beverley on Friday, September 14.
The launch of the Break Away Project at Cherry Tree Community Association in Beverley, will mean women and men will be able to access help even if they do not want to make an official police complaint.
The new service was officially opened by the Mayor of Beverley Margaret Pinder and was attended by members of the local community, including four people who know what it is like to be a victim of domestic abuse.
Break Away Project manager Amanda Roberts, Cherry Tree centre manager Joanne Ramsey, ambassador of the Break Away Project Kate Gardner and Hull man Ian McNicholl, an honorary patron of national charity ManKind, which supports male victims of abuse, all spoke of the horror they went through at being a victim of domestic violence and how they have received help to turn their lives around.
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After being subjected to more than a year of physical and mental abuse by his former girlfriend, Ian has used his own experience to help other men suffering and has also travelled down to Manchester to the set of Coronation Street to advise key characters in the soap on how to deal with a domestic abuse storyline.
Character Tyrone Dobbs is currently in an abusive relationship and is regularly attacked by his pregnant girlfriend Kirsty Soames.
The Break Away Project will provide a confidential advice line, a drop-in session and one-to-one support sessions on an appointment basis.
The confidential advice line will be available on Thursday evenings from 6pm to 9pm by calling 01482 333783, and messages can be left at other times.
Drop-in sessions will be held on Mondays from 1pm to 3pm, and one-to-one support appointments will be on Fridays from 1pm to 3pm.
One-to-one telephone support is also available for those who have difficulty accessing the centre.
The project has been made possible thanks to funding and support from the local community.
After the project was officially opened by Cllr Pinder, balloons were let off outside the centre to mark the number of people who die from domestic abuse every year.
Cllr Pinder said: "I think this is a wonderful project and I am very proud to be associated with it.
"I think this is for everybody, it's not a problem that can be categorised to gender or sexual orientation.
"It can affect generations of families. No-body deserves it and I think the message we need to get out is for people to believe they don't deserve it.
"It is with great pleasure I can officially open this project here in Beverley."
Comments
by audemars
Sunday, September 16 2012, 8:08AM
“If you have children and access the project, do they make a referral to social services?
The social services will place your children as 'at risk pf emotional abuse' and place them on the child protection register, due to them having to witness (or possibly witness) the domestic violence. The phrase they will use is 'having to witness the violent, angry and aggressive atmosphere within the home'.
I do thinks that the centre is an excellent idea because there is a lot of unreported violence out there, but go there with your eyes open, as it is not them but the other agencies that they will have to contact as a statutory duty under the Childrens Act 1989”