Viktoria’s Story
Throughout this year, to commemorate 10 years of Calan DVS, we will be sharing 10 stories over 10 months. Our next story is about Viktoria Williams who is one of the charity’s programme facilitators. This is what Viktoria says:
My career with Calan DVS began when I took a temporary post working in refuge in 2017, supporting families and individuals who had fled abusive relationships. This allowed me to develop my knowledge and experience of working in the field of domestic abuse.
Having had the opportunity to see the dedication of the staff at Calan, and how they supported and empowered residents to find their resilience, regain their lives and grow having survived domestic abuse, inspired me to apply for a full-time role with the organisation. I then worked in our community project supporting individuals to rebuild their lives before I commenced working on the Lighthouse project in 2020.
I am currently a facilitator for the Inspiring Families programme which provides a whole family approach to reduce risk by providing information and taking on board the voice of the child in families affected by domestic abuse. I also deliver the Compass programme, a peer support group which provides a service increasing knowledge and resilience to male victims of domestic abuse. Both programmes are run under the Calan DVS Lighthouse project. I also work on the Intervention hub with perpetrators of abuse throughout Mid and West Wales and am also trained to deliver Ask and Act and the ACES recovery programme.
During the pandemic I also took on the role of providing telephone support and implementing safety measures for individuals and families who had been referred by the police, being unable to access support and safe places outside the home as a result of lockdown.This was a challenging and dangerous time for anyone living in an abusive household.
Working with Calan DVS has been an inspirational experience. Having the opportunity to work with teams who are dedicated and motivated to create change and resilience in communities and create an empowering environment for families and survivors of domestic abuse has helped me grow in confidence and have a sense of pride and achievement.
Calan DVS have given me continuous opportunities to develop my skills and training and supported me through some difficult times in my own life. In my five years of working with the organisation, I have witnessed Calan develop and deliver holistic services to accommodate diverse backgrounds supporting women children and men and there are more exciting and innovative opportunities to come.
Working in an environment where I have witnessed that staff across the organisation have passion, integrity and drive to change perceptions around domestic abuse, reduce risk and empower individuals. I am proud to say I am part of the organisation.
