Council approves extra £874,000 to support victims of domestic abuse

Under the new plans, Stroud Beresford Women’s Refuge will receive an extra £32,400 funding from 1 April 2023 to support women to move on from refuge accommodation and into longer term housing. A flexible funding pot will be made available to cover a range of one-off housing related costs for goods and services, which can be a barrier to women and children looking to move out of a refuge. For example, this could include making payments or issuing vouchers to cover legal costs, upfront rent requirements, initial upfront utility bills, and essential white goods.

A further investment of £246,828 from 1 July 2023, will allow Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) to recruit specialist domestic abuse workers to support victims of domestic abuse who are currently living in the Registered Housing sector. These specialist workers will provide direct support to victims, advocating on their behalf on issues related to housing, and signposting to other local agencies where appropriate. In addition, they will help to upskill and support professionals working within Gloucestershire’s Registered Housing sector to identify and respond to domestic abuse.

Gloucestershire’s Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment and Strategy identified a need for the provision of trauma recovery support for victims of domestic abuse. A sum of £480,000 will be used to test a trauma recovery and counselling support offer for adult victims of domestic abuse accessing safe accommodation. An initial two-year contract, with an option to extend by one year, will allow the council and its partners to explore the viability of developing a longer-term trauma recovery service for all victims of domestic abuse.

All additional support will be funded by previously unallocated funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Cllr Kathy Williams, cabinet member for adult social care at Gloucestershire County Council said: “We want to make sure that victims of domestic abuse, and their children, are able to secure long-term safe accommodation as well as receive specialist support to help with recovery from trauma.

“I’m pleased that this funding will allow the council and its partners to build upon the fantastic work we are already doing locally, as well as supporting more professionals in the housing sector to identify and respond to signs of domestic abuse.”

The full cabinet report can be found here.