Henry had been married to Alicia for many years. He had become step-father to Alicia’s children from a previous marriage. Henry suffered ill health and also had a history of complex mental health issues. He lived in a house which was unsuitable for his health needs.

More recently, Alicia had been become ill and she had moved to live with other family members to be cared for. Following this move, Henry began to experience verbal, psychological and physical abuse from his adult step-children. They had made threats to his life, damaged his property and entered the property without permission. They also tried to stop him from entering his own home. Henry had called the police on a number of occasions and was genuinely fearful for his life.

LDVS received a referral for Henry and offered support around keeping him safe from the abusers. With the support of LDVS, the locks to the property were changed and Non-Molestation Order was applied for through the civil court. LDVS also attended various safeguarding and multi-agency meetings on behalf of Henry.

Henry was struggling with his mental health. He was lonely and teary. LDVS worked closely with the Community Mental Health Team and also a local befriending service to offer support calls to Henry to help him feel less isolated.

Working closely with Housing, Henry was eventually offered a new, more suitable property. LDVS were able to refer Henry for additional security measures via the Sanctuary Scheme to make his flat as safe as possible.

Henry was able to live safely in his new flat and expressed his gratitude for the support he received from LDVS and the other agencies involved.

Mikael had been in a relationship with his partner for many years. The relationship started off well but in the last 5 to 10 years his partners’ drinking got worse and her behaviour became more abusive to the point where it was unbearable for Mikael, he never knew what he would be coming home to.

Mikael wanted to end the relationship and move out of the home taking his son with him, but he knew that this wouldn’t be a straightforward thing to do. It was at this point that Mikael was referred to the Community Team at Leeds Domestic Violence Service.

Throughout the process of moving Mikael found it difficult dealing with many different services and was struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He would get regular calls from the male practitioners at LDVS and they would give him the time to talk about how he was feeling. They would talk through his options, explain anything he was unsure of, and follow up with other agencies to get responses.

“The male practitioners were amazing, I always felt listened to, they never pushed me into any decision but helped me explore what my options could be. Once I had made a decision and needed support with it, they were straight on it.”

Michael has now ended his relationship with my ex-partner and moved into a new home with his son.

“Without LDVS I would not have moved out of the home where I was experiencing so much verbal, physical and emotional abuse. I would still be there suffering, wishing there was some way to get out. I don’t know how much longer I could have coped with that.”

Jing was being abused by her partner. He told her he would kill her and controlled where she went, who she saw and what she could wear.

Jing gained the courage to leave the relationship but was really worried about possibility of him stalking her and subjecting her to further harassment.

Jing contacted LDVS via the online Webchat and within two days was able to join a Support Group. Jing spent time focusing on the different kinds of abuse and the impact of trauma, the importance of self-care and mindfulness within group. Jing was able to learn and understand that the strong emotional and physical reactions following distressing events such as domestic abuse was normal.

By attending the group, Jing felt she was able to recognise that her experiences with her ex-partner had been frightening and distressing and was supported to learn self-care strategies in order to support her recovery and reduce her trauma.

During the course, Jing’s support worker watched as her self-confidence built, and she started to believe in the amazing woman that she is.

“I came here feeling scared, nervous, stressed, and doubting myself as a naive victim of domestic violence, but also with a small chance that I could grab to seek help. After attending this group within four months, I now believe I can achieve what I want because I am a strong and independent woman.

It has been like a power bank for me, where I could come here every week to recharge myself for the coming week and at the same time, help build my own charging system. Now, I can identify what my boundaries are and what constitutes disrespectful behaviour towards me. I feel much more confident saying no to those unacceptable behaviours from my own point of view.”

Fatima came to the UK 6 years ago to live with her husband. She routinely suffered from emotional, physical, verbal and financial abuse from her controlling husband.

Fatima was scared, he threatened to harm her, her child and her family. His parents were also abusive and Fatima felt isolated, like she had nowhere to turn.

“I wasn’t allowed to leave the house without him.”

Fatima became so distressed she eventually called the helpline was granted a space in LDVS refuge.

Fatima needed support to restart her life. She was helped to apply for benefits, obtaining a Non-Molestation order, setting up a new school for her child, finding a GP, and even getting a new phone number and email address.

Fatima was also supported to join the Staying Safe programme. Over the 10 weeks, she grew in confidence and self-esteem and made friends with the other women on the programme who were all extremely supportive and encouraged her to leave the refuge and get out and about on her own for the first time in years. Fatima was terrified but she was so proud of herself for doing it.

Fatima feels more safe and secure, she is bidding to be re-housed, she no longer feels so isolated and her mental health and her general wellbeing has improved. She feels comfortable and settled and is able to make her own decisions in life. Her child is now settled in school, and has gained many rewards for school curriculum activities, opening up doors for new opportunities.

Alex identifies as non-binary and uses she/they pronouns.

Alex did not feel able to acknowledge what was happening to them and did not know that their abuser had a history of abusive behaviour.

After several incidents that resulted in police intervention they felt they were now ready to accept support from the LGBTQIA+ specialist in the Sanctuary Support Team (SST). Alex received one to one support from their worker who helped them when they became triggered and supported them to engage in victim-survivor groups.

Alex was also supported to stay safe from their abuser through extensive safety planning and inter-agency working by their SST worker, allowing them to stay safe and continue their recovery. Alex had sanctuary measures on their home, but also wanted to look at alternative housing which their worker supported them with.

They are now moving house, giving them the security to continue their journey in a safe and stable environment away from the risk of abuse. Alex now knows what healthy relationships look like and they are excited by what the future holds.

“My worker has been a major part in my recovery over this past year or so, they have always been there to support me through everything and been a shoulder to cry on many times! I really wouldn’t be in the place I am now without their support. I will always be grateful. Thank you.”