Calan DVS Current Programmes

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, our amazing and passionate teams across each of our delivery areas have continued to deliver our full range of services across all areas, even though our offices remained closed for a period of time. These services include; emergency accommodation for women and children, community services, crisis intervention and online group recovery programmes such as The Freedom programme and The Compass Programme.
We thought we would also share details of some of our additional specialist provision.
The Lighthouse Project
The Lighthouse Project, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, will run over the next four years. The programme comprises of two separate specialist programmes – Inspiring Families and the Compass Programmes – and have been designed to meet the uniquely complex needs of different target groups within the community. based upon expert analysis, research, sector expertise and a coproduction model informed by service users.
The Inspiring Families Programme is an innovative and structured ten- week assessment programme that can help strengthen and stabilise families where domestic violence and abuse is a known component and the family are choosing to stay together. The Programme was created by Rockpool Life; and Calan DVS recognised that an important aspect of the Inspiring Families Programme if it was to take a whole family approach was to ensure the voice of the child was heard. As a result, Calan DVS developed an 8-week programme for children within the family experiencing domestic abuse.
The Compass Programme was created by Dr Sarah Wallace at the University of South Wales specifically for Calan DVS. This is a specialist resource designed to help male survivors recover from their experience following self-acknowledgement of having been the victim in an abusive relationship. The Programme is also delivered over an 8-week period and is led by an experienced facilitator in a group setting with other survivors.
Both programmes withing The Lighthouse Project have been taking referrals from 1st September 2020.
The Ar Trac Project
The Ar Trac project is also now live and taking referrals. The project is a partnership between Calan DVS, Cyfannol Women’s Aid, Cardiff Women’s Aid, Gorwel and West Wales DAS who have come together to deliver Ar Trac to children aged 5-16 across 10 counties in Wales, thanks to funding from Welsh Government. The Calan team is delivering the project within Neath and South Powys.
Ar Trac supports children and young people aged 5-16, who have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse and who are exhibiting difficulties with their family and peer relationships. Difficulties can be wide ranging and pervasive; by addressing them and building upon strengths within childhood, Ar Trac aims to minimise the impact of the adverse childhood experiences associated with domestic abuse and improve life-long well-being.
Between now and January, Calan will focus on one specific area: improving the parent child bond and will be taking referrals for this specific initiative up until January 2021, we will then take referrals for all initiatives that come under the Ar Trac programme.
Aces Recovery Toolkit
The Aces Recovery Toolkit, funded by the Moondance Foundation, is now live and taking referrals in Ammanford. ACEs stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences.
The Adult Aces Recovery Toolkit is a 10-week programme that has been written to educate and inform individuals about the impact of ACEs on them and their children if they have any. The programme provides guidance on the protective factors that help mitigate the impact of ACEs, and the practical methods for individuals developing the resilience they need for themselves and their children.
The Children and Young People Toolkit is an 8-week programme that uses a combination of creative activities and group work to develop young people’s resilience and give them opportunity to experience the healing of relational support. It provides information and education that enables children and young people to cope with the adversity they have experienced. The Children and Young Peoples ACEs Recovery Toolkit is written as a complement to the Adult ACEs Recovery Toolkit.
Contact the Calan DVS Teams
For further information about these programmes, please visit our website by following the links below or alternatively, you can email members of our teams directly as follows:
- The Lighthouse Project:
- Inspiring Families click here or email enquiries@calandvs.org.uk
- Compass Programme click here or email enquiries@calandvs.org.uk
- The Ar Trac Project click here or email Artrac@calandvs.org.uk
- The ACEs Recovery Toolkit click here or email our specialist workers:
- Lucy Rosser: lrosser@calandvs.org.uk
- Richard Parfitt: rparfitt@calandvs.org.uk