Nottingham City Council has today been given a share of a £3.5 million Government grant to make sure that victims of domestic abuse get access to the support they need.
The £100,000 of funding will allow the City Council to provide support for around 190 domestic abuse survivors with complex needs. This will include additional refuge bed spaces, risk and needs assessments, advice, safety planning, specialist mental health and substance misuse services, translation and interpretation services for survivors whose first language is not English and dispersed accommodation to ensure survivors are able to resettle into the community and sustain their tenancies.
Nottingham City Council is one of 46 local authorities across the county getting a share of the fund. This will mean that there will now be 710 new bed spaces in a range of safe accommodation providing shelter to victims of domestic abuse across the country.
Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Councillor Nicola Heaton, said: “This funding will enable us to commission the first refuge in the region that predominantly takes survivors with complex needs supported directly by specialist substance misuse and mental health services. We will also improve access for survivors from communities where previously the language barrier has made it difficult for them to access services effectively.”
Val Lunn, Chief Executive Officer from Women’s Aid Integrated Services, said: “It’s important that all women, no matter how complex their needs, are able to stay in safe, emergency accommodation when they most need it and to help them leave their abusive relationship.
“We very much welcome this funding which will keep the most vulnerable women and their children safe and provide them with support to rebuild their lives. The project is an excellent example of local specialist domestic violence and abuse services working in partnership with the Crime and Drugs Partnership and the DCLG to keep women and children safe.”
Nottingham Community Housing Association lead for domestic abuse Hollie Venn added: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this Government DLCG funding, as it will help us ensure that survivors of abuse who have complex needs can be given additional support and so will be better able to cope and recover from abuse.”
Communities Minister Baroness Williams has already led a review of services working with women’s domestic abuse charities, local authorities and other local service providers to gain a much clearer understanding of the range of challenges victims and services are facing.
She said: “Domestic abuse is an appalling crime that shatters lives and this Government is determined to ensure that no victim is turned away from the support they need. This new funding will help Nottingham City Council and specialist charities provide a strong safety net for anyone facing the threat of abuse in their own home.”
“In the Spending Round we have also secured an additional £40m over the next four years – to make sure that victims can access support wherever they are from, anywhere in the country. We’ll set out how this money will be used for victims and areas that most need it with the publishing of the new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.”
This funding boost in 2015/16 is in addition to the newly secured funding of £40million over the next four years to support victims of domestic violence, announced as part of the Spending Review. Also announced at the Summer Budget was a review of the full range of services currently available to victims of domestic abuse.
Its findings fed into the Spending Review and will inform an updated Violence Against Women and Girls strategy to ensure that victims of domestic violence and their families have access to the support and services they need to keep safe.