New Devon Domestic Abuse support service to launch in April

A new Domestic Abuse Support Service is set to launch in Devon on April 1, 2025, introducing a person-centred approach to helping survivors and their families.

Led by the Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance (DDAA), the service brings together seven local organisations to ensure that people in need receive the right support at the right time, without having to relive their trauma multiple times through repeated referrals.

The new service marks a significant shift in how domestic abuse support is provided across Devon. The Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance is a partnership that includes:

• North Devon Against Domestic Abuse (NDADA)

• Encompass Southwest

• CoLab Exeter

• More Positive Me

• The Olive Project

• CRAFT Training and Development

• Surviving Abuse North Devon

Each organisation brings specialised expertise, ensuring comprehensive support for survivors, their families, and even those who have caused harm.

At the heart of this initiative is "My Story", a trauma-informed approach that eliminates the need for survivors to repeatedly share their experiences; a process that can often be re-traumatising. Instead, a dedicated support team will work closely with individuals, guiding them through their recovery journey with compassion and understanding.

The integrated support system will provide:

✔ Single Entry Gateway – A centralised contact point for survivors, offering access via phone, text, email, and online chat to ensure help is easily available.

✔ Community Domestic Abuse Support – Specialist teams offering risk management, safety planning, and whole-family interventions, including support for those causing harm to change their behaviour.

✔ Safe Accommodation & Housing Support – A range of refuge spaces and dispersed safe accommodation, alongside assistance for survivors to remain safely in their own homes.

✔ Trauma-Responsive Recovery – One-on-one and group therapy, peer support, and advocacy services, helping survivors heal from their experiences.

✔ Specialist Support for Complex Needs – Services addressing mental health challenges, substance use, and homelessness, with additional outreach programmes and accommodation for those in particularly vulnerable situations.

✔ Behaviour Change Programs – Targeted interventions aimed at breaking the cycle of abuse, helping those who have caused harm to take responsibility and make lasting changes.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Communities, and Equality, said: “This service ensures that everyone, whether they need a listening ear, safe housing, trauma recovery support, or legal advocacy, is treated with care and compassion in a way that reflects their unique background and experiences.”

Hannah Ashford, CEO of NDADA, said the collaborative approach behind the service was what would make a difference: “Bringing together expertise from across Devon allows us to create a truly flexible and responsive service. This initiative will reach and support those who need it most, including people in marginalised communities, ensuring that no one faces domestic abuse alone.”

Liz Cirasuolo, Devon’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Lead, hopes the service will have a long-term impact: “This new approach not only provides essential support for victims and their families but also plays a vital role in improving Devon’s overall response to domestic abuse. By fostering collaboration between services, we can help break the intergenerational cycle of abuse and create lasting change.”

The Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance takes over the role previously held by Fear Free, which has been a key provider of domestic abuse services in Devon since 2018. Over the past seven years, Fear Free has supported thousands of survivors in escaping abuse and rebuilding their lives. While the new service will replace Fear Free’s domestic abuse support, the organisation will continue delivering other vital services including the Devon Interpersonal Trauma Response (ITR) Service.

From April 1, 2025, anyone in need of support can contact the Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance at: 08082 816161