A safe place to heal – working with survivors of domestic violence

One of our most powerful projects this year has been our Safe Place to Heal sewing programme. Funded by the Lancashire’s Tampon Tax Community Fund, the idea of the three banners is to show a progression route for women and girls who have suffered domestic abuse trauma.

Underpinned by the Five Ways to Wellbeing, the project is designed to build participants’ skills and confidence, improve their health and well-being, and build up their social networks. The women taking part designed and sewed the banners and by working together, helped channel their emotions and thoughts in a positive, creative way to play a pivotal role in working though their traumatic experiences.

The first banner takes the name of the project, A Safe Place to Heal, and captures the feelings of the women when they initially take refuge in a safe place. The second banner – Building Futures Together – is about the women beginning to consider the options that are open to them when they prepare to leave the refuge.

The third banner is appropriately called Success Takes Time to Bloom and is all about women taking control of their own lives and having self-belief that time is a great healer.