Frequently Asked Questions
If you can’t find the answer you are looking for here or elsewhere on our website, please contact us at fundraising@safeinsussex.org.uk or call 0330 333 7416.
General questions about our services
Our refuges can support women and children from anywhere in the country. All of our other services are available to West Sussex residents only – this is because much of our funding comes from local organisations and communities.
At present our community group service and are only available to women, while our refuges are open to women and children.
Victim Support Sussex provides support by and for men. Call 0808 168 9274 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)
For information and advice you can also call:
- The Respect Men’s Adviceline on 0808 801 0327 (Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm)
- Mankind’s Helpline on 0808 800 1170 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm)
Our services are confidential so we would not share information without your consent. The only exception is where someone is at risk of immediate harm, where we need to take action to safeguard their safety. Even then we would explain why we felt the need to act and try to seek your consent if we can – but safety would then have to come first.
Yes you can, but our referral form will require you to confirm that they know about and consent to the referral and that the contact details provided are safe for us to call/message them on.
All our community services are free. We make a small service charge in our refuges.
We only provide services for children living in our refuges and through talks in schools. Our individual support service can provide parenting advice and we also have parenting advice sessions within our community group programmes.
The Paragon Sussex Team provides services for children and young people in West Sussex in partnership with West Sussex County Council. Call: 01403 229017 or email: paragonsussex@theyoutrust.org.uk
While we provide support to help people recover from the impact of abuse, we do not employ trained counsellors.
Our Lived Experience Group of former service users meets quarterly – alternately online and face to face – but remote options will be available for our in-person sessions. The group advises on Safe in Sussex plans and services and suggests ideas of its own, e.g. developing a dating card.
For more information and to sign up please email groups@safeinsussex.org.uk or call 0330 333 7416 ext. 212.
Community Groups
You will get most value from the programmes if you attend all of those relevant to you, but it does not matter if you miss one – you can always catch up in a future round.
You can choose to participate as much as you feel comfortable. It’s up to you how much you share within the group and there’s no pressure to speak.
Absolutely. We appreciate that you might take different things from the group depending on where you’re at in your journey and you’re welcome to attend again.
Unfortunately we don’t have crèche facilities at the venues our groups run in so we’re unable to accommodate children or any age.
Our Domestic Abuse Practitioners attend our community groups several times each term and can provide additional one-to-one support on specific issues where there is an identified need.
Individual Support
Our Domestic Abuse Practitioners attend our community groups several times each term and can provide additional one-to-one support on specific issues where there is an identified need.
There is no specific time limit – it depends what type of support you need.
We don’t have a drop in service, but our Domestic Abuse Practitioners regularly attend our community groups to offer individual support to those attending.
Our Head Office in Ferring is only an administrative centre and we don’t provide any supportive services from this location. The location of our refuges is confidential.
We’re sorry, but at this time we’re only able to offer individual support to those participating in our community group programmes (currently The Freedom Programme and Recovery Toolkit).
Refuge Accommodation
Everyone’s circumstances are different and refuge won’t work for everybody. Those who have stayed with us tell us it’s not just having a safe place to live that is so valuable, it’s the support our team can provide to help you deal with the impact of the trauma you have experienced and to move on to an independent life beyond the abuse.
For your safety you will probably not be placed in a refuge very near where you currently live and you will need to commit to keeping the refuge address confidential. That will have an impact on your face-to face contact with family, although our support staff will support you to keep in touch with loved ones. You may also need to think about whether you can continue with your current employment while you are with us and for children this can often mean a new school. If you have family or friends you can stay safely with, that may be a preferable option for you.
If you want to talk to someone about whether refuge is right for you then do call 0330 333 7416 or email us on refuge@safeinsussex.org.uk We help anyone coming into the refuge make a safe plan for leaving their abuser.
No, we accept anyone who has experienced any form of domestic abuse into our refuges if that will best meet their need to be safe. Domestic abuse can be any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. Domestic abuse includes sexual, emotional, psychological and financial abuse.
Our What is Domestic Abuse page tells you more about the different form of abuse. If you are experiencing any of these forms of abuse, you may need to seek our support.
We cannot support anyone who is drug or alcohol dependant. Our refuges will also not be right those with high levels of mental health need, as we are not an NHS service and our refuges are not staffed 24/7.
We do not charge rent, but do make a small service charge. We will help you claim benefits if leaving home leaves you without funds. If you are eligible for housing benefit, then we will support you in making a claim, which helps us cover the running costs of our refuges.
We recognise that you may have had to leave your home at short notice. We supply beds and bedding and toiletries if you need them and also have some clothing available if you have not been able to bring anything with you. We have welcome packs for children – so they will have access to toys.
If possible, bring a treasured possession for yourself and any children and any documents you have that can verify your identity if it is safe to do so.
In principle yes, but sometimes our refuges may not be the right place for older boys and we always need to balance the needs of new residents with those already living in our refuges. We recognise that every person and family we support is unique, so we consider all new referrals on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes a communal refuge might not work and if we feel it would be better for all parties, we support you to find alternative appropriate refuge accommodation.
As our refuges are communal Safe in Sussex does not operate any refuge accommodation for men. Dispersed accommodation (usually sole occupancy rather than communal provision) can be accessed via West Sussex District and Borough housing departments.
For information and advice you can call the Respect Men’s Adviceline FREE on 0808 8010327.
We offer refuge accommodation for up to 12 months. We will then support you with moving on to new accommodation, in partnership with housing officers.
Yes, all of our refuges offer shared accommodation. You will have your own lockable room: we do have family rooms too. You will then share communal space, including kitchen and bathrooms with others. We work with a partner service who offer dispersed accommodation (i.e. single occupancy) to those experiencing domestic abuse who are facing additional barriers, and where a refuge environment would not be suitable.
While our refuges are monitored 24/7, support staff will only attend during office hours Monday to Friday, unless there is an emergency. This means that one-to-one support sessions will be scheduled in office hours as well as supported play activities for children.
Our refuge team will work with you to develop a personalised support plan depending on your needs. This can include practical support on housing or benefits and emotional support to help you work through the impact of the abuse you have experienced. You will have regular sessions with a key worker assigned to you when you move into the refuge, so there are regular opportunities to check-in, ask questions and see how you are doing and what other support you might need.
We give children the opportunity to express their feelings and concerns through supported play and craft activities. Our support staff can also offer parenting guidance and support if needed.
Call us on 0330 333 7416 or email us at refuge@safeinsussex.org.uk
We are not an emergency service – If you are in immediate danger call 999.
We only assess referrals during normal office hours and, as our staff will also be supporting other residents, we may not be able to answer your call or ring you back straightaway. Our voicemail does ask for details of how we can reach you safely, but we will not contact you or leave a message unless you tell us it is safe to do so. If we don’t have any spaces we will let you know as soon as we can.
When we contact you, we will ask you for some background information to check that refuge is right for you. This will include information about the abuse, your circumstances and your needs. We know this can be a difficult process, and it can take some time to complete, but deciding to leave home and go into refuge is a big step.
If we can offer you a refuge place, we will also discuss how best you can safely reach us.
Our rules are very simple:
- We ask everyone in the refuge to be respectful of each other.
- We ask everyone to keep the location of the refuge confidential – this means no sharing of the address and not using any undeclared electronic devices which could allow your location to be tracked. Sadly this also means we can’t allow visitors.
- Alcohol and drug use is not permitted anywhere in the refuge.
Most of volunteering opportunities relate to acting as ambassadors for our service and helping to fundraise. We do not currently have any opportunities to support residents within our refuges. For latest vacancies and to find out more about volunteering with us visit our vacancies page
Supporting Safe in Sussex
Only a small part of our funding comes from our statutory sources. We have to raise the remainder of the funds we need ourselves through applying for tenders for contracts, or for grants or from local community fundraising. We could not do what we do without the generous support of local West Sussex communities.
We have limited storage so are not in a position to accept unsolicited donations, although we really appreciate you thinking of us.
We maintain an Amazon wishlist of things we are in need of in our refuges.
In addition, vouchers for shops such as Argos, Amazon or Boots or any of the main supermarkets are also ideal.
Alternatively, keep an eye on our social media pages, as we often ask for specific things we are in need of on there. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
As we only have limited storage, we can only accept second hand donations when we’ve asked for a specific item via our social media. Items need to be in good condition.
We can accept unopened alcohol, gifts sets, toys, scented candles etc. if we are doing a shout out for tombola gifts.
For donations of towels, bedding and clothing, we’re only able to accept new items.
Any toiletries/make up/food items need to be unopened and in date.
Absolutely! We love coming along and talking about our services. We can attend across West Sussex. Please email fundraising@safeinsussex.org.uk to enquire.
We welcome volunteers, particularly in being ambassadors for our service and helping us fundraise. You can find out more about volunteering with Safe in Sussex and current vacancies here
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