Our Story
In 1977 Safe in Sussex started life as Worthing Women’s Aid, providing refuge accommodation for women and their children fleeing domestic abuse. The service was started and for over 20 years run entirely by a committed group of volunteers.
Many of these volunteers had experienced abuse first hand: recognising the desperate need to provide a place of safety for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, they stepped in to fill that gap. We, and all those we help, will be forever indebted to the initiative, tenacity, resourcefulness and resilience of those women.
2001
Thanks to the support of West Sussex County Council’s Supporting People programme, the charity employed its first staff: a refuge support worker; a resettlement worker to support women from the refuge back into the community and an outreach worker.
2004
With the support of Children in Need we launched our first support service specifically for children in our refuge.
2008
We launched delivery of the Freedom programme in our community groups. The groups provide a welcoming, confidential and non-judgemental space, where women can find out more about domestic abuse and develop the skills and confidence to move on with their lives, supported in the knowledge they are not alone.
2009
We received funding for our first paid community group co-ordinator to support the expansion of the programme.
2010
Supported by the National Lottery we delivered our first conference, which proved a real springboard to further developments in our service, with our community groups really taking off.
2011
Following a generous legacy from Mr & Mrs Thomas Banting we were able to open a second refuge.
2013
In recognition of the cross West Sussex reach of our service, we changed our name from Worthing Women’s Aid (still our registered charity and trading name) to Safe in Sussex. The new name was chosen by our staff.
2014
We delivered sessions on healthy relationships in schools across the county.
2016
Following a successful application to a central Government scheme, we launched our outreach service, aimed at providing support to hard to reach rural communities. We also appointed our first refuges manager.
2017
We opened our third refuge with generous support from a local Sussex benefactor and were overwhelmed by the generosity of local residents in getting the new service off the ground. We also looked after a fourth refuge on a temporary basis.
2018
We delivered our Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) programme in schools and community groups, supporting adults and children on understanding and managing the impact of childhood trauma.
2019
We moved into our own dedicated head office in Ferring.
2020
During COVID we moved our services online – offering a helpline and webchat service for anyone impacted by domestic abuse, as well as online support groups. We have maintained online support options ever since. Despite the challenges of the pandemic we also opened our fourth refuge.
2021
We opened our dispersed accommodation during lockdown to expand the diversity of the refuge accommodation given high need during the pandemic.
2022
We were awarded a contract to provide training on the impact of adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed practice to over 3,000 professionals across Sussex including Sussex Police officers, health service workers and other frontline staff.
2024
Safe in Sussex was proud to be accredited as meeting the Women’s Aid National Quality Standards.
Today
We are now a dedicated team of 40+ passionate staff members and volunteers, who work tirelessly to help those affected by domestic abuse and raise awareness within our local communities on the impact of domestic abuse and the importance of healthy relationships.
