Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS)
GDASS is a specialist countywide domestic abuse support service provided by GreenSquareAccord. It is commissioned by Gloucestershire County Council with additional investment from the OPCC and the ICB.
The core service provides:
- Support to all victims of domestic abuse aged 16+, female, male and LGBTQ+ victims with staff
specialisms identified covering all protected characteristic groups
- Support across all risk levels:
- Helpdesk support
- Standard/Medium risk: Floating Support and Group Work for women and men
- High Risk: Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs24), including IDVAs with specialist knowledge, for example, Health and Court IDVAs, or working in specific settings, for example, the criminal justice system.
- Support service to the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
- Support to victims accessing domestic abuse safe accommodation
- Support to victims in the context of the whole family
- Awareness raising and training for professionals in Gloucestershire
- Community awareness raising and engagement
- Information, tools, and resources accessible through a public facing website
Places of safety scheme
Places of safety are commissioned by Gloucester City Council (as the host local authority for the Housing Partnership Team which acts on behalf of the district councils and the county council, the OPCC and the ICB) and delivered by GreenSquareAccord. The current contract includes an expansion of the capacity of Places of Safety from 12 to 24 units, with the potential scope to expand to 36 units during lifetime of the contract.
Places of Safety operates as a dispersed domestic abuse safe accommodation scheme and provides accessible, affordable and suitable self-contained individual properties for all victims of domestic abuse including single victims, family units, victims with disabilities and/ or additional support needs. This accommodation is temporary and support is provided by Places of Safety to support victims in
securing suitable move on accommodation Domestic abuse support within Places of Safety is delivered as part of the GDASS contract.
Target hardening and sanctuary scheme
The Maintaining Safety in the Home service (Target Hardening and Sanctuary Scheme) is commissioned by the district councils and the OPCC. The scheme is currently delivered countywide by Safe Partnership, it provides:
- A range of measures for maintaining victim safety at home by way of additional security measures, for example, alarms, locks, lighting.
- The provision of a safe room with telephone in a property where there is very high risk of DA and/or stalking.
Stroud Beresford women's refuge
The women’s refuge in Gloucestershire is provided by the Stroud Beresford Group, a charity that has been providing support in the county for over 40 years. The refuge is independently funded, with some regular support from the county council’s domestic abuse grant funding towards the cost of domestic abuse support within the refuge and support from the district councils.
The refuge provides support to women and their children, offering safe accommodation (nine bed spaces) alongside a range of services that help build skills, confidence and self-esteem.
Gloucestershire domestic abuse healing and empowerment service
Trauma recovery pilot providing support to adult survivors of domestic abuse accessing domestic abuse safe accommodation using domestic abuse grant funding (for support in safe accommodation). The pilot will be used to evaluate the benefits and demand for trauma recovery support and to inform future consideration for wider provision of trauma recovery provision for all adult survivors.
Positive Relationships Gloucestershire (PRG)
PRG is a specialist countywide service that provides a range of interventions to challenge beliefs and address the behaviours of domestic abuse perpetrators aged 18 years and above. The service is currently provided by FearFree, it is commissioned jointly by the county council, OPCC and ICB. The service provides:
- A 25 week accredited domestic violence prevention programme. This is a behavioural change group programme for perpetrators of domestic abuse.
- 1:1 behavioural change work with any perpetrators of domestic abuse who are not eligible for domestic violence prevention programme group programme, including female perpetrators of domestic abuse, LGBTQ+ perpetrators, as well as male perpetrators who could not attend group work programmes, for example due to work commitments or learning difficulties etc.
- Healthy relationships early interventions group work
- Partner safety work to ensure victims remain safe as perpetrators attend the programme
- Relapse prevention support for service users completing the domestic violence prevention programme.
Safe Teenage Relationships Education and Empowerment Team (STREET) Gloucestershire
A countywide service that provides a range of prevention activity, targeted support, group work programmes and support to safeguard young people aged 13-19. The service is currently provided by Victim Support, it is commissioned by the county council with additional funding from the OPCC.
The service provides:
- Support to young people aged 13-19 affected by domestic abuse through:
- Experience of teenage relationship abuse
- Witnessing and affected by domestic abuse in the home
- Displaying harmful behaviours in their own relationships
- Young Person’s Violence Advisor (YPVA) support and 1:1 domestic abuse support
- Group work programmes:
- Recovery Toolkit
- Dating Detox
Gloucestershire Stalking Advocacy Service (GSAS)
A countywide service that provides support to high risk victims of stalking across Gloucestershire, working in conjunction with GDASS, Victim Support and Gloucestershire Constabulary. The service is currently provided by FearFree, commissioned by the OPCC to provide support that incudes provision for Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworkers (ISACs).
Non-specialist domestic abuse service provision
Victims/survivors of domestic abuse can access domestic abuse support from a whole range of providers across Gloucestershire, for example, Housing Teams/Homelessness services, GPs, other health provision including mental health services, Children’s Social Care, Adult Social Care, Education settings, Department for Work and Pensions, counselling services, other commissioned specialist services, for example, Via, Nelson Trust. These providers are engaged with the domestic abuse agenda, have a good awareness of domestic abuse, proactively seek to identify domestic abuse and work with victims and their families to understand risk and address the issues presenting or will
make onward referrals as needed to specialist domestic abuse support services.
