SHS's work on violence against women
News article from March 17, 2021
How we work on violence against women
The terrible news about the murder of Sarah Everard this month has sparked a national debate around violence against women. School-Home Support does a large amount of work on this topic – particularly domestic violence.
Domestic violence on the rise
From the first lockdown that was announced in March 2020 to this month, the number of interventions we have done around domestic violence has increased by 133%.
Jaine Stannard, Chief Executive of School-Home Support, said: “The increase in interventions around domestic violence have skyrocketed since the first lockdown was announced a year ago. Women are facing violence in the home, and, as we have seen with the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, on the streets. School-Home Support as an organisation is doing everything possible to ensure women are safe – particularly in their own homes.”
How we helped Alice and her children after domestic violence
Alice’s family were referred to a School-Home Support Practitioner due to daughter Hattie’s behaviour in school, as well as her attendance which had dropped to 88%. Her key worker, Kerstin, spent time getting to know the family – where it became clear that the family had been struggling follow domestic violence
Kerstin got to work; mentoring Hattie on her mood swings and anger management, along with working on developing Hattie’s self-confidence and positive thinking. Her Mum, Alice, was also supported to improve her mental health and develop her resilience.
Alice didn’t know that she, as a parent and adult, could go back to college and take free NVQ Level 2 courses and could also access financial support for Level 3 courses.
Alice completed an NVQ Level 2 course about Autism in December 2020 and has applied for a further course about Working with Families. She is also applying for a part-time job with a local organisation that is passionate about parents and young people’s resilience.
“I feel so much happier and more optimistic about my own future now,” Alice told us. “Once I finish this course, I’m going to go into nursing, something I always wanted to do when I was a child. Both my children have told me how proud they are of me because of my recent education achievements and it has spurred me on, to show them both that we can all have a brighter future. I wholeheartedly thank School-Home Support and especially Kerstin for all the encouragement and support this last year and for helping me feel like I have a future again.”
This has had a knock-on effect on Hattie – who is attending school more regularly and now dreams of working on crime scenes or becoming a beautician.
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