Commissioning Annual Report

Victim Services

Victims Specialist Services (VSS)

I have set aside £250,000 of my funding to organisations that provide specialist support to victims of crime, these range from trauma counselling to therapeutic support for families. These services are complementary to the core victim services contracts I fund and ensure that there is enhanced support available for specific groups or those with a specialist need.

The organisations funded are:

Choice Support - Jigsaw Hate Crime Project, providing intensive support to victims with learning disability, mental health and autism - £31,308

Dads Unlimited - 1:1 Mentoring Service, supporting men rebuild their lives following domestic/emotional/financially abusive relationships - £30,000

Dandelion Time - Therapeutic service for children and families affected by domestic and sexual abuse - £30,000

Domestic Abuse Volunteer Support Services – Support to Court Project, supporting domestic abuse victims in engaging with civil and criminal court processes and support for male victims of domestic abuse - £16,800 and £4,880 respectively.

Rising Sun and Choices – supporting adolescents who have experienced domestic abuse within their homes - £45,029

Sign Health - Delivering Sign Hope which is a bespoke counselling programme supporting deaf or hearing-impaired victims impacted by domestic and sexual abuse - £41,785

Rubicon Cares – delivering 1:1 trauma counselling for victims of crime - £50,000

Positive outcomes achieved during 2021/22 include,

Choices Support supported 33 service users and 93.9 % of users reported improved health and wellbeing and were better able to cope with aspects of everyday life.

Dads Unlimited received 181 referrals, which is up 43% on previous years.

Dandelion Time supported 30 children and their families and 86% reported an increase feeling of safety and better informed and empowered to act. Families received intensive support for up to 14 weeks.

Domestic Abuse Volunteer Support Services (DAVSS) Male support service received 92 referrals and the clients showed an improvement in their mental health and well-being from the ongoing emotional support provided by this service.

DAVSS Support to Court Service received 796 referrals. They provided 2,812 pieces of legal advice ,142 pro bono solicitor appointments, provision of 98 Mackenzie friends and supported to get 134 molestation orders,10 prohibitive steps orders and 46 child arrangement orders.

Rising Sun received 160 referrals. The project focused on building safety and managing wellbeing for the young people. This enabled the young people to have a better understanding of toxic, coercive control in relationships and how to spot the warning signs.

Rubicon Cares received 152 referrals and 190 clients were supported.

Ministry of Justice Independent Domestic Abuse Adviser (IDVA) and Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) Funding

The MOJ made a funding opportunity available to PCCs to secure additional IDVAs and ISVAs in their areas. This funding was in recognition of the increased demand for Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse support, particularly during the pandemic but also in recognition of the issues with the criminal justice system which has seen victims requiring greater and longer-term support. Following my engagement with service providers I was able to develop a strong evidence-based bid, which resulted in an additional £657,313 being awarded to Kent. This funding has enabled an additional 20.5 IDVA / ISVAs to be recruited (18.5 IDVAs and 2 ISVAs).

The services funded are as follows,

Dad’s Unlimited – 1 IDVA and 1 IDVA Manager to support male Domestic Abuse victims- £77,699

East Kent Rape Crisis Centre (EKRCC) – 1 IDVA and 1 Child and Young Persons Mental Health ISVA - £59,746

Family Matters – 1 ISVA Manager - £33,872

Kent & Medway NHS Trust – 1 IDVA - £34,107 Providing support for people accessing secondary mental health support.

Kent Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (KIDAS) – 4 IDVA’s to Increase capacity with the countywide Domestic Abuse contract - £133,333

New Leaf Support – 3 IDVA’s to support DA victims within Sittingbourne - £44,145

Oasis – 1 IDVA Supporting additional capacity within the Medway Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (MIDAS) - £35,575

Rising Sun – 3 IDVA’S Providing additional capacity to Domestic Abuse victims, their children and families - £116,574

SATEDA –1 Co-ordinator, 1 Adult Caseworker and 1 Child Caseworker providing additional capacity to support Domestic Abuse victims in Swale - £67,014

Sign Health – 1 IDVA and 1 Children and Young Person IDVA to provide support in sign language to hearing impaired victims of Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence - £61,920

East Kent Rape Crisis Centre (EKRCC) – Dedicated ISVA working with students (school, colleges and universities) impacted by Sexual Violence - £68,800

Family Matters – Dedicated ISVA working with young people impacted by Sexual Violence within Gangs and County lines £68,800

 

Positive outcomes achieved during 2021/22 include,

Dads Unlimited feedback was that 100% of clients were happy with the service provided. 

The additional KIDAS IDVA’s have provided contact to all their clients, the majority within 24 hours of referral to enable an immediate safety mechanism to be put in place for victims and their families.

New Leaf Support have supported 171 clients during this funding period.

Oasis the additional IDVA has been able to provide a bespoke holistic programme of support addressing physical, emotional and empowering the client with knowledge.

Family Matters reported that 58 out of 60 clients had improved health and wellbeing with their support.

SATEDA supported 508 clients and with other organisations closed gaps in food banks, job centres and community hubs.

MOJ Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Uplift Funding

The MOJ made a funding opportunity available to PCCs to secure additional community-based Domestic Abuse and or Sexual Violence services in their areas. This funding was in recognition of the increased demand for Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse support, particularly during the pandemic but also in recognition of the issues with the criminal justice system which has seen victims requiring greater and longer-term support. Following my engagement with service providers I was able to develop a strong evidence-based bid, which resulted in an additional £441,525 being awarded to Kent.

This funding has enabled the following services to be delivered,

Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse £12,660 to support families bereaved by suicide after domestic abuse

Dads Unlimited £25,197 to fund 1 staff member for 1 to 1 mentoring service for male victims of domestic abuse.

Dandelion Time £23,225 To provide additional therapeutic services for children and families affected by domestic and sexual abuse.

DAVSS £17,616 to support the provision of a helpline manager for domestic abuse victims

EKRCC £11,040 provision of 2 family practitioners to support 3 families per week for victims of sexual violence.

Family Matters £40,000 to provide additional therapy sessions to victims of sexual violence.

Fresh Vision £22,264 to help with the provision of a domestic abuse trauma informed counsellor.

Health Action £15,480 to support the Hidden Truth Support Group, a group for African males who are victims of domestic abuse.

KIDAS £ 72,665 funding towards the staffing costs of outreach workers to support victims of domestic abuse.

Mankind £8,000 a funding contribution towards the virtual pattern changing course staffing costs to support male victims of domestic abuse.

Mary Dolly £32,400 to support delivery of remote tailored trauma counselling.

Medaille Trust £17,564 contribution towards a Family Activity Co-ordinator and a sessional worker for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

NSPCC £10,000 to provide additional Letting in the Future trauma therapy sessions for children and young people.

Oasis £26,236 provision of an additional IDVA to support the Medway Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (MIDAS) team.

Restorative Solutions £33,750 to continue to deliver the adolescent to parent violence project.

Rubicon £19,366 to provide trauma informed counselling for victims of sexual violence and extend the opening hours of the helpline.

Salus £30,000 to support the delivery of structured, evidenced domestic abuse and resilience programme for children and young people.

Victim Support £24,062 contribution towards supporting the Stalking Advocacy Service.

Positive outcomes achieved during 2021/22 include,

Dads Unlimited supported 133 victims resulting in victims feeling better informed and empowered to act.

Dandelion Time supported 23 children and their families. The service has seen a 35% rise in referrals over the last year.

DAVSS saw 1063 victims supported by the helpline with the funding enabling the helpline to double its opening hours and allowing more victims access to an advisor.

EKRCC saw 98 victims supported through this funding. 86 % reported improved health and wellbeing and 100% felt better informed and empowered to act.

Family Matters supported 61 victims with therapy delivered by phone, in person and online depending on the individual’s needs.

Fresh Visions saw 12 victims were supported through a range of services including one to one session, systemic therapy, group therapy and attachment sessions.

Heath Action supported 84 victims. This project has reduced prevalence and acceptance of domestic abuse on African males through awareness campaigns to a target audience of approximately 1,500 people.

Mankind was able to support 8 male victims of domestic abuse with this course

Mary Dolly saw 92 victims supported and 100% reported an improvement in health and wellbeing. It helped victims reflect on their feelings and daily activities to support their own needs.

Medaille Trust supported 24 females who were victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking and modern slavery in a safe house. They engaged in activities to improve their health and wellbeing such as relaxation, healthy eating cookery and confidence building.

Oasis supported 83 clients during the funding period.

Restorative Solutions supported 34 young people and their families.

Rubicon helped 83 victims and the goals are for the client to feel in control, deal with feelings of anxiety, guilt, shame and to try to prevent PTSD developing.

Salus supported 25 victims. 84% reported improved health and wellbeing, 88% were better able to cope with aspects of everyday life and better informed and empowered to act.

MOJ Critical Support Fund

The MOJ made available further funding to PCCs to support exceptional or additional needs for DA and SV community-based services in the Summer of 2021. Following my engagement with service providers I was able to develop a strong evidence-based bid, which resulted in an additional £151,036 being awarded to Kent.

This funding has enabled the following services to be delivered,

Clarion Housing £26,115 to support a new staff member for victims of domestic abuse and provide a telephone/video helpline and interpreters for residents where English is not their first language including BSL users.

Innovating Minds £30,000 to train professionals on the Healing Together programme.

Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service £17,539 to support a 12-week counselling programme for female victims impacted by domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Rubicon Cares £21,788 for specialist 1 to 1 trauma counselling and helpline support for victims of crime.

SATEDA £20,206 contributed to the support to court project.

Victim Support £35,388 a contribution for a Stalking Officer and Team Leader

Positive outcomes achieved during 2021/22 include,

Clarion Housing has reported that the extra funding has allowed more victims to be supported and has shown an increase in helpline calls.

Innovating Minds trained 44 professionals within educational and community settings to deliver the Healing together programme, a 3-day training programme to support children aged 6-16 years impacted by trauma and abuse.

Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service received 306 referrals and are reporting an increase in demand for counselling.

Rubicon Cares has supported 85 victims of crime.

SATEDA were able to support 335 female victims apply for protective orders, occupation orders, prohibitive step orders and child arrangement orders