Angus Women’s Aid

Website: http://anguswomensaid.co.uk/
Email: info@anguswomensaid.co.uk
Telephone: 01241 439 437
24 Hour National Telephone: 0800 027 1234
Opening Hours:

  • Monday: 10am – 4:30pm
  • Tuesday: 10am – 4:30pm
  • Wednesday: 10am – 4:30pm
  • Thursday: 10am – 4:30pm
  • Friday: 10am – 4:30pm
  • Saturday: Closed
  • Sunday: Closed

If you need help outwith these hours, please call the 24 hour national helpline.

Domestic abuse can take many forms such as verbal, physical, sexual and emotional. It can leave the victim feeling frightened, insecure, degraded, depressed, or trapped. We can provide support over the phone, in our office or anywhere safe in Angus. We will support you whether you want to leave your partner or not.

We will respect your confidentiality at all times. We provide emotional support, practical support, including settling in to a new area, help to seek legal/benefits advice, housing support, an outreach service and refuge-a safe place to stay.

Our aim is to empower women across Angus to explore their options and make safe choices.

Refuge

Our Refuge Service provides safe accommodation for women, children and young people fleeing an abusive relationship.  Refuge provides women with a safe space to evaluate their options and think about the future.  While living in refuge women are supported to make housing applications, apply for benefits, register with a GP and dentist locally, register children at a new school etc.  Women and children will have at least one support session with their key worker every week.  The refuge is protected by CCTV cameras and is completely secure.  Women can access refuge for longer term accommodation until they find permanent accommodation or for just a few days as thinking space.  Emotional support focusses on building confidence, self-esteem and moving on from the abusive relationship.

Outreach

The Outreach Service supports women in their local community regardless if they are still with their partner or not.  A key worker will meet with a woman in a public place such as doctor’s surgeries, Access Office, Social Work Office etc.  The key worker will offer a 13 session support plan which will cover issues such as understanding domestic abuse, healthy and unhealthy relationships, support and safety planning, confidence and self-esteem.   Practical support can include attending appointments or meetings with a woman, making enquiries with housing, welfare rights, health professionals etc. The support offered is person centred and based on the woman’s priorities and can be extended beyond the 13 sessions if required.

Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate (IDAA)

The Independent Domestic Abuse Advocate (IDAA) service processes all new referrals to Angus Women’s Aid.  This involves listening to and believing women’s stories, assessing the level of risk she is facing and deciding what service would suit her needs best.  The IDAA role is to determine a woman’s immediate safety and discuss basic safety planning.  If a woman and/or her children are at serious risk of harm then refuge may need to be discussed as an option.  If a woman wants to access refuge then a discussion with the manager will be held immediately.  If there is no refuge space available locally the IDAA would check where there would be refuge space available nationally.  During safety planning discussions the IDAA will ask the woman about her personal safety and assess if any medical treatment is required and if it is safe for her to talk when called, the security of her home would also be discussed and the IDAA may make calls to housing to enquire about additional safety measures being put in place.   The IDAA offers short to medium term support and if longer term support is required a referral into the outreach service would be passed on to the Women’s Service.

MIA (MARAC Independent Advocate)

The MIA (MARAC Independent Advocate) service works with women who are recognised as being at high risk of serious physical harm or death. The MIA will talk to women about their safety and explain what will happen at the MARAC and find out what she wants raised at the meeting. The MIA is at the MARAC to be the woman’s voice and explain the woman’s concerns to representatives from Housing, Health, Social Work, Police, Women’s Aid, Education and any other relevant service a woman is getting support from. After MARAC the MIA will contact the woman and let her know what happened and how services have agreed to help reduce the risks to the woman. The MIA will also support the woman to access other services to find out additional things she needs to know or if she wants further support services. The MIA is a strictly short term support service and the involvement will end shortly after the MARAC as other agencies should then be involved carrying out their agreed actions from the meeting.