Connect to Calan – Celebrating 10 Years of Calan DVS
Message from our CEO
Hello and welcome to our new quarterly newsletter.
As you may have noticed from our social media platforms, this year we are celebrating 10 years since the formation of Calan DVS in 2012. We kicked off these celebrations with a series of events across our offices in February where staff celebrated Calan’s achievements over this period of time.
We were delighted to receive so many messages of congratulations and support for our anniversary including video messages from actors Michael Sheen and Shelley King as well as Ruth Dodsworth, ITV presenter and a survivor of domestic abuse. We also received a letter of congratulations from Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Then earlier this month, we brought everyone together (staff, trustees, volunteers, supporters and special guests) at a single celebration and showcase event to highlight the key achievements and milestones since formation in 2012. This was also an opportunity to say a big thank you to our staff, trustees and volunteers for their commitment and support during this time. Click here to read more.
We were delighted to welcome some amazing guest speakers, including survivors of domestic abuse who shared their personal experiences.
We also received videos of congratulations from Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice and Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales who also discussed the priorities of her office and how important specialist organisations like Calan are to addressing domestic abuse.
We also took the opportunity to showcase the work and achievements of some of Calan’s flagship programmes. Calan staff members shared information about our core services including our refuge and our community services which play a vital role in supporting victims of domestic abuse. We shared information about our professional training programmes for organisations such as the police, health boards and local authorities and touched on the new community champions programme we are developing with partners to tackle violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 10 years as well as those who have contributed and continue to contribute to the work of Calan DVS, enabling us to truly make a difference across the communities where we work.
You can read more about how Calan DVS was formed and the charity’s journey over the past 10 years here.
Michelle
Calan DVS Impact Report
During Calan’s 10th Anniversary celebration event, we took this opportunity share details of the impact that Calan DVS has had over the past 10 years in terms of supporting women, men, children, families, communities and professionals.
Some of the key statistics included support for:
• 1,863 women and 945 children and young people through our refuge provision
• 6,211 adults within our community services
• 3,295 children in our community services
• 327 families through bespoke programmes.
You can see more statistics in the image below:
None, of these outcomes and the support provided would have been possible if it wasn’t for our dedicated board of trustees who have volunteered their time to support and guide Calan to be the best organisation it can be, our frontline managers who provide support and direction to their teams, our Operations Manager who has operational oversight of all frontline services and provides expert guidance and advice to the teams and our central teams who support me as the CEO, to deliver the strategic objectives of the organisation.
These outcomes especially wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our frontline staff where they provide crisis intervention, advice, support, guidance, safety plans, support planning, recovery programmes, coffee mornings, peer mentoring opportunities, volunteer opportunities and advocacy and so much more. All within Calan have made a huge impact on the lives of thousands of victims/survivors who have accessed our services over the past 10 years.
Five Year Strategy
For the next five years, we have set a number of key strategic priorities, creating a framework which outlines what we want to achieve, the difference this will make and how we will measure our success.
These include the launch of a specialist Sexual Violence Support Service along with the launch of the Calan’s first Sexual Violence Trauma Sexual Trauma and Recovery Centre (The S.T.A.R Centre) which will be based in Neath.
See our five strategic priorities below:
Pride Month
It would be remiss of us not to give a shout out to Pride Month (June) and the work that is being done across many charities, including Calan DVS, to recognise and address the domestic abuse that LGBTQ+ suffer on a regular basis.
Last year we were ‘proud’ to launch our Myriad Programme, which was specifically developed for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other gender, relationship and sexually diverse Individuals. This 8-week recovery and resilience programme has been developed in partnership with LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic abuse and the University of South Wales. We offer a safe space to chat, learn and support each other. Read more here.
In recognition of Pride month, our Myriad programme facilitator, Gwilym Roberts, has recorded a number of videos which explain more about the programme. These can be viewed on the Calan DVS You Tube channel here.
Delivering the Reprovide Programme
We are excited to announce that in conjunction with Bristol University, Calan DVS will soon be delivering the Reprovide Perpetrator Programme across Swansea Bay. The programme was developed by RESPECT in-line with their National Accreditation Standard.
We are currently recruiting a number of roles to support the delivery of this programme – see full details and how to apply here.
Delivering Iris In Carmarthenshire
Last year, Calan DVS was awarded the contract to deliver the IRIS programme via funding from Swansea Bay University Health Board.
We are excited to announce that Calan were successful in securing the contract to deliver IRIS across Carmarthenshire in conjunction with Hywel Dda University Health Board.
The health service plays an integral role in addressing the issue of and transforming responses to domestic violence and abuse (DVA). The IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) programme is a training, referral and advocacy model helping clinicians to better support their patients affected by DVA and to increase the awareness of domestic violence and abuse within general practice.
IRIS provides specialist DVA training to clinical professionals, alongside administration staff, within local general practices. The training supports clinicians to recognise and respond to DVA, and the programme provides a direct and trusted source for advocacy for patients following disclosure.
Non Fatal Strangulation
At Calan DVS we have supported the ongoing campaign along with other organisations to make non-fatal strangulation a criminal offence.
And we are delighted that this new offence finally came into force on 7 June 2022. Read more in this BBC article here.
Petition for Stricter Gun Laws in the UK
Calan DVS is supporting the Petition to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, started by Rachel Williams.
Rachel is a survivor of domestic abuse and violence and suffered horrific injuries after she was shot by her estranged husband at the hair salon where she worked. The gun which was used in her attack was stolen from a house burglary and passed on. This brutal act destroyed so many lives. Along with Nazir Afzal, the former Chief Prosecutor, the petition is inviting individuals and organisations to call on the UK Government to review the licencing conditions to hold any firearm.
Read more about this issue and sign the petition here.
Live Fear Free
If you’re at risk of abuse, or concerned about someone, you can reach Live Fear Free as follow:
Text 0786 007 7333
Email info@livefearfreehelpline.wales
Live chat gov.wales/livefearfree
#livefearfree #youarenotalone
