domestic abuse service
Impact Report
2014 - 2015
Chairperson’s Report Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November 2014 was special in that we were marking our 20th year as a charity, based in Thanet, which strives to ensure that families affected by domestic abuse issues receive the best service available. We held the AGM in the Turner Contemporary in Margate. On arrival at the venue I noticed a group of students and after the formal business I realised the significance of that group: they were a group from East Kent College with whom the Oasis Children & Young People’s Team (CYP) had been working to raise awareness of the harmful impact of abusive relationships. They performed a very challenging drama which highlighted the subtleties of how one person can gradually take control of another. It was cleverly acted and structured to portray how even those who witnessed the relationship deteriorating and who were close to the victim felt unable to bring about the change needed to help the victim be free of the increasing control. Our speakers at the AGM were Ann Barnes, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, and former police officer Professor Jane Monckton-Smith from the University of Gloucestershire. Both gave stimulating talks on aspects of the work around dealing with domestic abuse in its various forms, including startling statistics shown in research, thus highlighting the tragedies that occur in violence against women. The past year has been very busy for Oasis in all respects. Generating income is an ongoing challenge, and, as reported last year, we have pressed forward with the establishment of The Oasis Shop in the Old Town at Margate, selling both on-line and in person, women’s and children’s clothes. It’s always a risk to set up such a venture, but so far things are going well. Oasis has a good name throughout the local area and is well supported in various ways by individuals and groups such as Rotary, local churches and women’s groups. The Kent Domestic Abuse Consortium (KDAC) continues to work together and support each other throughout the county. The Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) service across Kent and Medway, now in its third year, is running well with a hub based in Canterbury. A new Friends Group has been formed, initially under the guidance of the fundraising team, but now led by Maggie Elliott, a Trustee. A Launch Lunch will take place later in the year at East Kent College to raise funds and awareness of our charity’s work. Our Board continues to thrive and strengthen, bringing with them a range of remarkable skills and experience. We are grateful that all the Trustees are generous with their time and are keen to learn about all the aspects of helping victims of domestic abuse and governing a charity. Good governance is at the core of our work as a Board of Trustees; we are able to support the remarkable work untaken by our CEO, Deb Cartwright, who leads the organisation with great skill and insight. I wish to thank all the wonderful people who work and volunteer for Oasis; we are fortunate to have you with us.
Margaret McManus
domestic abuse service
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CEO’s Introduction This past year has shown us at Oasis that we are capable of delivering more services efficiently and effectively. Growing the organisation has been a big challenge and we are keen to be able to work as any size organisation as long as our clients continue to receive good quality help. Our aim is to continue to design effective services, and where we have the opportunity to provide these, we will. So, our focus has been on ensuring that the organisation is robust in its management of public money and as a capable organisation. I am sure you will agree that the evidence of our work contained in this report speaks for itself in showing what we are able to do with the users of our services. Looking forward to the coming year we have significant challenges to face. Much of our core work is to be re-commissioned, opening it up to public competition. This is no reflection on our organisation. It is just the nature of public service provision. These tender competitions are not easy for smaller organisations like ours to face - it places strain on our limited resources and means that we must compete with much larger organisations, but through our work as part of the Consortium we have built resilience for larger service provision. We have been honoured in the past year to become a ‘critical friend’ of SafeLives (formerly CAADA), a well-respected national organisation that brought the IDVA model of support to the nation. It has been my personal honour to co-produce and deliver their training for Service Managers, and we are currently designing together a model for outreach support which we hope can become a national model. They also watch with interest our Young Adult Mentoring work to assess its efficacy and scope for becoming a national resource. We continue to ensure that our local focus is sustained, with our engagement with local partnerships to ensure best practice and support is given to local communities. This also applies to our provision of training for health staff, in partnership with our consortium partners, our ongoing voluntary delivery of counselling and group working programmes, as well as continuous analysis of how we can best intervene early and prevent future occurrences of abuse in the home. These ‘added value’ activities would not be possible without our supporters: those that volunteer, give donations in gifts and cash, hold events to raise funds for us, participate in sponsored events with and for us, thank us for a job well done, tell us where we can do better, help us to improve, support our development, and all of the other wonderful things that kind-hearted people in the community of Kent do to support this vital work each day. We thank you, and we hope that together we can, over time, see a decrease in the numbers of people coming forward for support, and that we can embed the message that ‘love shouldn’t hurt’ in the minds of all young people in our community.
Deborah Cartwright
Why the need for specialist services? Domestic violence costs society
nearly ÂŁ16 billion per year
On average the Police receive an emergency call relating to domestic violence
every 30 seconds
In 2012/13
During 2012/13, a total of
4%
7.1% of women reported having experienced any type of domestic violence in the last year, equivalent to an estimated 1.2 million female victims of domestic violence nationally
23,409 incidents of domestic abuse were reported, an increase of
4% from the previous year
There have been eight domestic homicide reviews published in Kent & Medway since 2011. There are valuable lessons to be learned
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On average, two women a week are killed by a male partner or former partner in the UK - this constitutes around one-third of all female homicide victims
In a study of 139 serious case reviews in England 2009-2011, 63% of cases were found to have domestic abuse as a risk factor
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Refuge - Key Data
12 bedroom refuge in Kent In 2014/15 the refuge had
Of these,
77 enquiries for refuge accommodation.
67
underwent a full interview process.
The refuge housed
47 new families in the year
with an associated 29
children. The refuge had an average stay of 16 weeks during the year.
36 families were resettled from the project.
Refuge Outcomes Refuge Empowerment Star outcomes
Number of people
10 8 Opening 6 Closing 4
Change
2
em lfes
te
ng Se
nd ta
er m en
Em po
w
W or k
an
d
C
hi
ld
Le ar ni
re n
ey on M
Sa fe Ac ty co m m od at Su io pp n or tN et w or ks Le ga lI ss H ue ea s lth an d W el l-b ei ng
0
The outcomes show the average incoming and exit scores for clients on the empowerment outcomes star. Clients consistently show improvement in these outcomes as they travel through the refuge service. There are a wide variety of support needs addressed by the team in order to enable the clients in the refuge to move forward with their lives.
“Everything went well and there is nothing I would change as it is like a big sisterly family environment.”
Refuge Exit Survey The highest clients can score is 5 - in 2014 for those who moved on from the refuge we averaged 4.5.
“Staff were very understanding in relation to my child; they made us feel very welcome.” 7
A Client’s Story... Jane had lived in Birmingham since 2003 with the father of her children. She is a mother of two, Amelia who is 8 and Joshua who is 2. Jane was working as a dental nurse in a local dental practice during her time in Birmingham. Jane suffered ongoing emotional, financial and mental abuse at the hands of her partner and was subject to controlling and manipulative behaviour. In 2014 Jane gained the confidence to leave her abusive relationship along with her two children and self-referred to Oasis. On 22nd September 2014 Jane, Amelia and Joshua arrived at the Oasis Refuge. The family moved into two rooms in the refuge and made this space their temporary home. Jane was assigned a keyworker who she now sees once a week for support with a variety of things such as housing, emotional support, budgeting and benefits. “I was amazed at the beginning at how much support was offered. There was always someone to talk to.” Since moving in Jane has made full use of the in-house counselling service that is offered by Oasis to help her process what has happened and to help build her confidence. “Counselling has really helped and I wish I had started sooner.” women’s refuge Empowerment Star: clients report an average 20% im The children are currently benefitting from the services of our Children’s Support Worker and have one to one sessions. These allow for Jane to have a more focused key work session and time for her to access the counselling services. The family attend any group activities that Oasis organises for the families here and they engage well with the support that is on offer. After 9 months in the refuge, Jane and the children have been offered a lovely property in a seaside town and are excited to start a new life there. Amelia will be starting a new school and Joshua will be starting nursery there. Jane hopes in time that she will be able to return to work to create more independence for her family. After moving on from the refuge, Jane will continue to receive support from her key-worker, counsellor and the Children’s Support Worker. She also plans to continue to come along to the weekly support group.
Support Group Our long term support group for current and former clients actively participates in community engagement and awareness by delivering external projects annually. They underpin our preventative agenda. In 2014 they worked in partnership with Resort Studios to deliver an exhibition called ‘Kaleidoscope’. This coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Kaleidoscope installation at Resort Studios, celebrating freedom from abuse created by the Oasis support group with the help of the professional artists at Resort Studios.
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Love CommunityAge-appropriate Activities
Biscuits
Culture
Housing
Family
Art
Therapy
Practical Home-making
Fitness Treatment Playroom
Cake
Advice
Life skills Recipes
Diversity
Children
Empathy
Counselling
Freedom
Celebrations
Availability
Health
Brilliant staff
Belonging
Encouragement
Confidence
Sharing
Teenagers
Groups
Openness
Safety
Support
Information
Laughter
Understanding
Energy
Friendship
Sewing
Donations
Recover
Bonding
Well-being
Awareness
Relationships
Education
Pregnancy
Counselling • 28 clients completed therapy in 2014 • The counsellor has an engagement rate of 87% 18 clients in the community have completed therapy and have identified significant decreases in both their anxiety and depression scales on average. Number of people
Community counselling average outcomes 20 15
Opening
10
Closing
5 0 Anxiety
Depression
There were 10 clients with closing outcomes in the refuge cohort. CORE outcomes measure a client’s wellbeing; problems/ symptoms; functioning and risk. This generates a total CORE score, which has shown significant decrease in concerns. Refuge counselling CORE outcomes totals 400
Number of people
350 300 Opening
250
Closing
200 150 100 50 0 Wellbeing
Problem/Symptoms
Functioning
Risk
Our counsellor has extensive knowledge and experience of those affected by traumatic experiences. The results of her work have caused us to develop a volunteer counselling service in order that we can train, develop and extend this helpful offer.
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Group working programmes The Freedom Programme Oasis staff and volunteers co-ordinate and share facilitation of the Freedom Programme with Thanet Domestic Abuse Forum partners. • We offered this group to over 100 people in 2014. • There is an average 68% completion rate.
2014 Freedom Outcomes 6.0
Number of people
5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0
co
nfi I f de ee Iu nt l nd an ers d ta Id m nd es y m fe y er el se ve in lf to gs in b a er re e la sp tio e If ns cte ee hi d ls p af e i n en t I in fee vi he ro fa th l m nm m e y fa c en ily m hi t ily ld r If en en ee vi a ro re an l I c nm sa un an en fe he id t al en th tif y ya re n la d tio a If ns vo ee hi id lh p op ef ul co fo nfl I fe ic el fu r th ts I tu e in am re m t o y re b la lam tio e ns fo hi r p
0.0
Pre group
Post group
The final question shows a negative variance which is a good outcome as clients’ feelings of self-blame are shown to decrease. ‘’Please keep this programme going for other people who are experiencing this sort of abuse. This is a group that really helps people in this position.’’
The Recovery Toolkit Oasis has successfully delivered this programme for six years. Recovery Toolkit - changes in clients’ view
If I say ‘No’ to someone I am being selfish
If am assertive I will be hurt in some way
It is easier to agree with people than to challenge them
If someone in an authority position makes a decision about me or family I must accept it If I am assertive people will not like me Post group ‘False’ Pre group ‘True’
If I ask someone for help they will take advantage of me
I find it difficult to tell someone if they have upset me
If I am assertive I am not being polite
I would rather keep something that did not fit than take it back to the shop Being assertive means conflict 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
The above table shows a selection of outcomes that clients experience; they almost consistently feel more confident and assertive when reflecting on the statements shown. Most clients, in most responses change from True responses at the start of the group to False responses at the end.
‘’I have gained my self-worth. I have realised certain negative traits that I have been carrying on and I have taken the steps to rectify them.’’
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Children & Young People’s Team We have a growing service offer for children and young people with ongoing developments in the team. Our strategy is directed to early help and preventative work.
Male mentoring We have piloted male mentoring in the communities of Thanet & Dover for the past year. • The mentor worked with 16 clients in 2014. • The engagement rate was 64% Teen Star outcomes 11-19 Years Male Mentoring 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Drugs & alcohol
Well-being
Average initial score
Safety & security
Structure & education
Average closing score
Behaviour & citizenship
Family & other key adults
Improvements
The Teen Star is designed to assess key areas of a young person’s life. It not only affords the capture of the journey of change, but engages them in thinking about the areas of their lives they might like to work on. The client identifies an opening and closing score between 1 & 5. This score will inform their support plan, and their own self-view.
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Young Adult Mentoring Oasis devised a mentoring approach for those aged 16-25 who are already entering into difficult relationships. This approach is being funded through the Brook Trust Fund (http://brooktrust.org/) and the Henry Smith Charity (http://www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk/) • 12 clients have been closed with outcomes • 45 clients have been engaged in support • 67% engagement rate Young Adult Mentors 2014 average Teen Star outcomes 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Drugs & alcohol
Well-being
Safety & security
Structure & education
Average initial score
Behaviour & citizenship
Family & other key adults
Average closing score
The Teen and Empowerment Outcomes Stars are used with clients according to their ages. The results to date for the closed clients show that the service is effective, although the dataset is small at this time. YAMs Empowerment Star 80 70 60 50 40
Le ar
ni ng E an mp d o Se we lf- rm es e te nt em
re n ld hi
an
d
C k
an th ea l H Opening Closing Change
W or
on ey M
l-b
ei
ng
s W el d
ks
Iss ue al Le g
pp Su
Ac
co
m
or tN
m
et
od
w or
at io
Sa fe
n
ty
30 20 10 0
Case study A 24 year old woman was referred to the service who disclosed childhood sexual abuse, perpetrated by a family member. The perpetrator had taken his own life when confronted about it. Her assessment identified low self-esteem, feelings of guilt and responsibility, anxiety, feelings of despair, and a low motivation to change. The client has used ‘life story’ work to create a visual representation of her family and her own history, this has been helpful in highlighting difficult family attachments and feelings of anger which had been dismissed by other close family members. This woman is fully engaged in the service and attends regular weekly appointments. The support has been long term due to the issues presented and is coming to a close within the next few weeks. There is great change evident in this client, by supporting her emotional needs she has improved excess sleeping, poor living standards and has taken a part-time job. She now wishes to secure a full-time job because of her increased motivation. Our internal ABLE assessment evidences a dramatic reduction in a variety of attitudes and behaviours for the young woman which had a negative impact on her life. ‘I learnt loads of information on relationships and keeping safe. My worker gave good information, we built up a good relationship and she always stuck to what she said and would text to make sure meeting was okay for today, and to remind me.’ ‘I feel the service has helped me in all aspects of my life. I can’t wait for the future.’
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Kent and Medway IDVA Service Year 2 - 2014-2015
ls a r r fe
2581
Re
Ana lysi s
“What a fantastic service, it was so very supportive. I was sent in the right direction, and realised that I wasn't alone.”
Cos t
“I would just like to say a massive thank you to all of you who helped yesterday with our client’s move. It went as perfectly as we could have hoped for and that was down to all of your hard work. I left a very happy, grateful and contented resident last night in her new home, ready to start a new chapter. We really did make a massive difference, thank you again.”
of court clien have a pos criminal jus outcome
1769 of the 1998 MARAC cases have The been supported by service has s the IDVA service in been subject to Year 2 (89%). external evaluation and that report has This is an confirmed both the cost increase of savings and outcomes for clients. 258 cases It was calculated that the KMIDVA on Year 1. service is generating annual net savings of £19,903,803 which means that:
Ben efit
A Professional says:
new referrals have been handled by the IDVA service in Year 2.
93.7%
£1
Every invested in KMIDVA generates
savings of £25.23 to the public purse.
(Comment from Amicus Horizon Ltd) “It’s so nice to know that people are there to help, you just don't realise what help is out there.”
“I have felt really supported, having someone to speak to helped me a lot.”
1044
calls in Year 2. 76 of these have been out of hours (weekends)
“He (male Court IDVA) understood and was really sensitive and understanding.”
Kent Domestic Abuse Consortium
are
and 380 have been client self-referrals.
Hel
plin
e
domestic abuse service
d
p
w
3
“This has really increased my confidence. I now have a Young Adult Mentor through Oasis so I can keep working on my needs, it is really nice to have someone to talk to.”
f our nts sitive stice e.
The Kent & Medway IDVA team have maintained a high engagement rate at
Dev
have been supported by the specialist court IDVAs in Year 2.
SafeLives
s
ent
pm elo
Adolescent to parent violence programme; SafeLives co-produced outreach model; CORE training for domestic abuse staff and other professionals.
63% 74% 70% 45% 45% 45% 70% 70% 70%
rk benc hma
Cessation of abuse Risk reduction Feeling safer Children’s Wellbeing Relationship with children improved Emotional wellbeing Reduced fear levels Help-seeking confidence Economic stability
Total amount of cases in Kent and Medway:
192 professionals have
now been trained in Safe Enquiry, delivered by consortium partners.
Training delivery for frontline police officers is ongoing with a total of
“I could not have managed to leave the perpetrator without the IDVA'S support. The support was of a very high level and showed sensitivity to my predicament. They been very responsive even since my case has been closed.”
Key
1259 cases
82%.
“Fantastic – it’s great to know that you have done nothing wrong.”
eLearning: Safe Enquiry for G.P.s & Domestic Abuse for Magistrates
1170
313 officers
ing
in Tra
“You have made a real difference to my life.”
60% 91% 97% 89% 77% 93% 93% 97% 77%
trained in year 2.
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Focus group 50 ex-service users gave us feedback about the support they received.
“Staff always went above and beyond.”
“Your support was much more personal than the other refuge I was in.”
Ways to Well-being
I feel my world has grown I have been able to notice things day to day more I have connected with the local community I have been able to give to others I have learnt something new I have been more active 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Respondents reflected on their life changes since being supported by Oasis via the Ways to Well-being. The % responses represent the number of clients who felt they had achieved these outcomes.
“The staff were always there for you, no matter what.”
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Community engagement Oasis places importance on raising awareness within the community of domestic abuse issues and the work of Oasis generally. In 2014-2015, our staff gave presentations – some formal and some informal – to 9 groups within the East Kent area. These included a GP surgery, youth/student groups, church interest groups, women’s groups, Rotary Clubs, and other interest groups. We also offered training to 505 professionals to increase domestic abuse knowledge in their day-to-day practice.
Fundraising Oasis Community fundraising raised over £36,000 this year. This is thanks to the members of the community that variously put on their own fundraising events, take part in sponsored events, and support our events, such as the Postcard Auction kindly gifted by the Margate Harbour Arm. It has been a tremendous effort by all; the general awareness of Oasis is now higher than ever, which has helped us to increase the level of support we get from the community. There are so many events held for us. Just a few examples are: weekly coffee mornings held by groups like the residents of Mentmore House which raised £370, and the continued support by businesses such as Gadds’ The Ramsgate Brewery who raised £1,254 with pub quizzes and events over the past year. Without these we would struggle to raise awareness of our work and encourage others to also help us. This year showed increased numbers of supporters taking part in sponsored events, for example the Margate Rotary Club’s Swimathon which this year inspired teams from the Walpole Bay Social Swim group and Oasis volunteers to raise over £1,000. Others are putting on their own one-off events. For example, to mark International Women’s Day supporters across Thanet held their own events, inviting friends round for dinner and drinks raising £350. The Rotary Club of Thanet were also extremely generous in their donation of £10,000 raised through their annual boxing match which benefits a number of local charities.
Trusts and Foundations During this financial year Oasis fundraisers secured a total of ÂŁ103,280.33 to support the holistic services that Oasis provides its clients. BBC Children in Need has awarded us a grant of ÂŁ81,000 over 3 years. This grant will fund the work of one of our mentors working with children and young people and help make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people right here in Thanet. The Police and Crime Commissioner also enabled us to provide Freedom Programmes to those most in need of this support both from the Oasis refuge and the community with a generous donation of ÂŁ12,341. Additional funds from the Gibbons Trust helped provide support for children staying in our refuge to learn and deal with their experiences through play. Funds from Thanet Community Safety Partnership and Kent County Council members also helped Oasis create learning tools for our volunteers, children and young people and court magistrates in domestic abuse issues.
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These are just some examples of the support we have received over the past year:
Oasis Fundraising Manager (far right) accepting the ÂŁ10,000 from The Rotary Club of Thanet
Walpole Bay Social Swim Group at the Margate Rotary Swimathon
The Margate Harbour Arm Postcard Auction in September 2014
Kiki Case acting as quiz master at the Montefiore Arms Christmas Quiz raising funds for Oasis
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Financial Review During 2014-15 Oasis income was
ÂŁ1,340,112 (ÂŁ51,786 more than last year)
domestic abuse service
The community donated £36,441 to Oasis in 2014-15 which is an increase of 19.5%. The fundraising team are also enabling more small grants to be accessed. They have a success rate of 78%, with 18 grants being applied for in the year. This raised £103,000 for vital community work. As a supported housing provider we aim to provide excellent quality accommodation for our clients and these funds will provide the improvements required to make our clients’ stay more comfortable and this aim supports the charity’s overall mission. The Trustees wish to ring fence £186,000 for this purpose. A Capital Appeal has begun and we have the support of friends in the community with this need.
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If you have any queries about this donation form please contact us at:
fundraise@oasisdaservice.org or call 01843 269400 domestic abuse service
I would like to make a one-off donation of
£
I would like to make a regular donation per month of:
£10
£20
Starting from
£30
or
£
2015
I would like to make a standing order from Account holder(s) name Bank name Bank address Postcode Account number
Sort Code
Please return the completed form to: Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, PO Box 174, Margate CT9 4GA. By signing the form I confirm that I have read and accepted the terms and conditions below. Please pay the amount detailed above and thereafter the same sum on the same day of each succeeding month until further notice to the account of Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, account number 00021110, sort code 40-52-40.
Signature
Date
Name Address Postcode Email Contact number GIFT AID Thanks to the Gift Aid scheme you can give an extra 25p per pound. I confi rm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for the current tax year(6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for the current tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and council tax do not qualify. I understand the charity will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I have given.
Signature
Date
Data protection information – Oasis is registered under the Data Protection Act. Your name and address will not be disclosed to any other organisation but we may, from time to time, send you news about Oasis and information on events. If you would prefer not to receive information please tick the box Registered charity no.1126198 and as a company in England & Wales no. 05810653
www.oasisdaservice.org