Welsh Women’s Aid: A Day in the Life
Wrexham Domestic Abuse Service Delivery Manager
Alison Hamlington
I manage Welsh Women’s Aid’s domestic abuse service in Wrexham County Borough. We offer a One Stop Shop for survivors which includes our own drop in service, Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) service and partner agencies who come in and share their expertise with survivors, making sure the help is available, all under the one roof.
We also manage the only self-contained refuge in North Wales for women and their children who are fleeing domestic abuse, which is always busy.
I provide regular support and supervision for our staff, and represent the organisation at meetings and events. Today, I’ve blocked the whole morning out to put the finishing touches on monitoring information required for our funders. We are a small team, so on a typical day I may also be covering our drop-in service, if we are short-staffed.
This afternoon, I supported a woman who was referred to us by another organisation, who has been suffering from domestic abuse for many years. Although she divorced her violent husband many years ago, the abuse continues and she needs our support to be safe and make a new life for herself. We support women whatever their circumstances, and aim to reduce isolation by running groups like the Freedom Programme and our Friendship Forum, all available in our One Stop Shop.
I feel the 16 Days of Action campaign can only serve to support our ultimate goal of eradicating violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence against women and girls.